https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Worner-heads-to-U-S-Air-Force-Academy-6972883.php
Worner heads to U.S. Air Force Academy
Published 3:00 am EDT, Monday, July 4, 2011
Recent Freeland High School graduate Mitchell C. Worner remembers being in second grade and wanting to be a fighter pilot. It was Career Day at Freeland Elementary, and the thought just stuck. After years of hard work, Worner's dream is about to come true as he prepares soon to leave for the U.S. Air Force Academy cadet training camp north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County. The son of Charles and Sandra Worner, Mitchell said he always received much support academically from his parents and credits his success to hard work in academics and his dedication in sports. Worner also warmly remembers traveling a great deal with family to places like Washington D.C. and England, which supported his interests in airplanes, flying and engineering.
Mitchell attributes his love of flying to having a family of engineers; his father works for Nexteer Automotive in Saginaw, his grandpa also is an engineer as are three or four of his uncles.
Before Mitchell leaves for Colorado, he plans on working out and spending time with friends. He believes there's no real way to prepare mentally or physically for training camp; just accepting one day at a time. In other words: he's not overthinking it.
"My friends have made jokes about how hard it's going to be. I think my wrestling background will help a lot."
While Mitchell will not have much time to call or come home until the holidays, he's excited to start this new adventure. he looks forward to his future which may include flying bomber transporters or drones.
Mitchell he recalls his dad always "pushed my education, especially in math."I loved numbers and being quizzed in math problems. He's always been supportive of what I wanted to do." He also speaks fondly of his varsity wrestling coaches at Freeland High School who pushed him beyond his limits physically. "At times it was grueling. Some of those matches were long and hard, and we would have grind matches for an hour. I think that's really prepared me." Mitchell said playing varsity football also helped him understand the importance of staying in shape in all aspects.
In April, the Daily News announced that Mitchell had received an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy and was nominated by U.S. Rep. Dave Camp. Mitchell said when his cell phone rang and heard Rep. Camp's voice on the other end to notify him of the good news, Mitchell was a little confused at first. "I guess I didn't expect him to call me direct."
Besides Mitchell competing in varsity football and wrestling, he was a founding member of the school's rugby team, a member of the National Honors Society and served as a mathematics tutor and Freeland book club.