Now all I need are aviator sunglasses

Good news! I now have a job lined up for after I graduate!
And the not exactly great news, we may be moving away from Oklahoma someday.

This means it is official now, I’ve signed my contract with the US Air Force and I’m now 2nd lieutenant Kennedy. They’re going to pay for the rest of my tuition and I have a minimum commitment of three years, although I will likely serve longer.

We’re not going anywhere just yet. I’m still going to finish all of my classes at OU and graduate from the pharmacy program in 2012. After I graduate and get licensed I’ll go to Commissioned Officer Training at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama then begin my career as an Air Force Pharmacist. We’ll be able to ‘preference’ our bases, but ultimately where I work is dependant on where I’m needed.

Why go to work for the Air Force? Why not a local chain pharmacy? Ultimately it came down to a lengthy series of interesting coincidences that has led me to believe that this is where God wants me to be and I believe this is where I can best provide for our future.
This was one of the more interesting coincidences. Over the summer I was volunteering with my current Retail Chain Pharmacy employer (now referred to as RCP) at an event at the Bricktown ballpark. At that time I was still weighing the pros and cons of staying with my RCP after graduation or going to work for the Air Force. I went for a walk around the ball park to clear my head, the volunteering wasn’t going very smoothly, and just as I was asking myself “what am I doing here tonight?” I felt something weird on my back, (this is a little gross) I looked back and saw that a bird had pooped on me and the ‘stuff,’ was now covering the RCP’s logo that was on the back of my company t-shirt. I couldn’t help but laugh, the last time a bird ‘expressed,’ themselves on me, I was in my first semester of college, unhappy, at an engineering major picnic, debating if I should stay and stick it out, or transfer to OU and pursue the science/medical field. Those birds didn’t make my decisions for me, but I feel like they may have summed up how I was feeling, but had trouble admitting to myself.

Last Friday I was sworn in and took the officer oath.



No, the Air Force hasn’t decided to change its colors to purple. I was sworn in by Lieutenant York, a 3rd year student at the college who also happens to be a proud Kansas State alum (KSU is doing pretty well this year in basketball).

Thank you all for your encouragement and support throughout my application process. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to and we’re very excited about our future.