Nic Gustavson has a photograph of the moment he realized what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.  

In the image, he’s in the third grade and salutes the camera, with the gleaming silver points of the futuristic looking Air Force Academy Chapel and peaks of Colorado’s Front Range behind him. 

At the ripe old age of 8, Gustavson knew he wanted to fly planes, and he knew he wanted to fly planes with the U.S. Air Force. Never mind that the Air Force Academy has an acceptance rate of just 14% or that the application process is far more grueling than that of the typical university; Gustavson had a goal, and for the next 10 years he pursued it with a single-minded determination.  

At the end of January, Gustavson was accepted to the Air Force Academy, fulfilling his life-long dream. 

“It feels pretty gratifying,” Gustavson said. “All that work and all the years of classes and everything I’ve been doing ... to finally make it, it’s just a weird feeling. It feels good, but it doesn’t feel real.” 

Gustavson graduates with the Bigfork High School class of 2026 on June 6 before heading to Colorado at the end of June to start basic cadet training at the Air Force Academy. 

“Nic — he’s a rare kid,” said Ryan Nollan, who coached Gustavson throughout his cross-country and track career. “Intelligence, work ethic, leadership and then just planning. I’ve never experienced a kid that has had such a long-term goal. To be able to stick with it for year and do the steps years out, it’s so rare.” 

Gustavson started the application process for the highly selective military academies in March 2025. Colleges like the Military Academy, Naval Academy and Air Force Academy offer a free education in exchange for a service commitment following graduation.  

In addition to the typical essays and test scores, military academies require a congressional nomination and fitness assessment. Securing a congressional nomination is a lengthy and competitive process with its own set of essays and interviews, while the fitness assessment tests candidates in benchmarks like a mile run, push-ups and pull-ups.  

“Most of my summer, when I wasn’t working or running, was writing essays, filling out forms with the service academies and the congressional offices,” Gustavson said. 

While Gustavson spent about a year applying to the Air Force Academy, he said he started preparing to apply to the service academies in middle school. Knowing that service academies prize leadership skills, Gustavson jumped into student council as a middle schooler. As a junior and senior at Bigfork High School, he served as student body president and spearheaded an effort to rewrite the student government constitution. 

He ran on the cross-country and track and field teams, where he quickly became a leader on the team, according to Nollan. A hard worker, Gustavson achieved a 4:58 mile and a sub-18-minute 5K during his senior year. 

As he took on increased leadership responsibilities, Gustavson realized that the prospect of flying planes was no longer his only motivation to attend a service academy.  

“I found out that I really loved leadership. There was something about it, working with the team, having a vision, achieving stuff together,” Gustavson said. "I loved doing it, and that's what the service academies are all about, is leadership,” 

But flying planes still had a certain appeal for Gustavson, and he joined Civil Air Patrol in seventh grade to gain both military and flying experience. Civil Air Patrol is an auxiliary of the Air Force composed of volunteers and citizen airmen. A public service organization, Civil Air Patrol promotes aviation through education and by shaping future leaders, like Gustavson, through its cadet program.  

“We have uniforms, and we follow military customs and courtesies,” Gustavson said. “It’s like a little taste of military lifestyle when you’re kid. They teach leadership and military physical training. When I was younger, I was rising up through the ranks and just learning everything I could, but by the time I was done, I was planning things, being the leader of the group, leading drill and teaching classes to the younger kids.” 

As a freshman, before he could legally drive, Gustavson got his first experience flying through Civil Air Patrol’s cadet orientation flight program. While he couldn’t take off or land the plane, he was able to maneuver the aircraft in the skies above Flathead Lake.  

“I think that's when I realized that flying is awesome, and I love it,” Gustavson said. “But I also wouldn't be completely heartbroken if I wasn't able to be a pilot. It's cool, but it helped me realize that my focus is more on the leadership aspect of it now." 

At the Air Force Academy, Gustavson plans to pursue a career as a long-range pilot, a gig he said will also give him the opportunity to see the world. He plans to study foreign area studies and history with a path to work as an intelligence officer if he ultimately does not become a pilot.  

As he prepares for his next steps, Gustavson credits his parents, Erik and Jennifer Gustavson, with supporting his dream throughout the years. The couple teach at Bigfork Elementary School. 

“I wouldn't have been able to do all this without them,” Gustavson said. "The hardest part is knowing that the Air Force Academy is going to be such a challenge, and still willingly choosing to do it is tough because it's naturally easier to want to take the easy path. My parents have helped me a lot with seeing past that and looking at what the benefit of choosing a challenging path is.”