Student of the Month Spotlight for December Published Dec. 7, 2015 By Airman 1st Class Caelynn Ferguson 17th Training Wing Public Affairs GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- U.S. Air Force Senior Airman John W. Pierson, 316th Training Squadron Intel student, is the newest 17th Training Group Student of the Month Spotlight, a series highlighting Team Goodfellow students. Airman 1st Class Caelynn Ferguson: 17th Training Wing Public Affairs: What led you to join the military? Pierson: I graduated college in 2013 and I wanted to pursue a master’s degree but I didn’t have the money for it. I decided to come in to the Air Force. I studied languages before so I decided to take the Defense Language Aptitude Battery test and to become a linguist. What has been the most impactful moment in your career so far? My most impactful moment was probably graduating from the Defense Language Institute about two months ago. It was like a 16-month long course, and I was learning Pashto. They say it’s one of the hardest tech schools in the Department of Defense, so it felt really awesome. What are your hobbies? I do martial arts and I go rock climbing. I studied Shaolin Kempo Karate for about 13 years now. I studied Kung Fu for a year and a half when I was in Monterey, California. What do you want to accomplish during your time here at Goodfellow Air Force Base? I really would just like to learn how to do the job and get confident in it. I’m about half way through the course right now, it’s a good course and the instructors really know what they’re talking about. So, I feel like I’m getting more confident in using the skills that I’m supposed to be learning. Is there any advice or anything extra you would like to share? Keep plugging away. Things in the military and tech school can get hard but you just have to keep pushing through it. It doesn’t matter what anyone says to you, don’t let it get you down. Just keep pushing through.
