Air Force Academy graduates one of smallest, most diverse classes

The Air Force Academy graduated one of its smallest classes in recent years Thursday.

Eight hundred forty one cadets graduated with the Class of 2015, down from around 1,100 last year.

They were officially commissioned as second lieutenants in the Air Force. About 40 percent of them will go on to pilot training.

Even though the class of 2015 was one of the smallest in history, it was also one of the more diverse. Twenty percent of graduating cadets were women while 26 percent were minorities.

Jonathan Mio, of Peru, is one of a handful of international students.

“You can’t make it without everybody in your class,” Mio told KRDO NewsChannel 13. “This is it. This is a family, a military family. We call ourselves a family. That’s what we are.”

Jonathan Remiasz is a first generation American of Polish heritage. He told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that he was humbled more than 20 members of his family were able to attend graduation.

“They took a lot of time out of their weeks and work to be with me here,” he said. “I love them.”

“I’m proud,” said Remiasz’ mother, Mary Remiasz. “I’m overjoyed, and I think like a lot of the other parents here, we feel very very blessed.”

The ceremony at Falcon Stadium ended with a performance by the Thunderbirds. The flying team buzzed the stadium just as the cadets tossed their hats into the air and performed for over 30 minutes.