LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV) — University of Nebraska-Lincoln senior Taylor Ziepke has always been fascinated with outer space.
“I was that kid who wanted to be an astronaut.”
While she won’t be an astronaut per se’, the Air Force ROTC Cadet will be playing a big role in our country’s national defense in space, after being accepted into the United States Space Force.
“I didn’t believe it at first,” Ziepke laughed. “I kind of was like, ‘Wait, is this real?’”
Those in her ROTC Detachment on the other hand: “To be completely honest, I was not surprised.”
Ziepke credits her experiences and leadership roles held in ROTC for getting accepted, along with her major in mathematics.
“The Space Force is super small right now so they’re very selective on who they want in their program and enhancing their mission,” she told me.
The Millard native will be enhancing that mission in the exact position she was hoping for – a Sierra 13 Space Operations Officer.
“They’re in charge of satellite command and control and ensuring there’s perfect communication and space surveillance around the planet,” she explained.
So, for now, she will be earthbound. Though, she hasn’t ruled out the possibility of going up to space at some point.
“She’s not only earned the respect of her peers, such as myself and her commander but there’s a lot of cadets that look up to her,” Cpt. Matt Smith, associate professor in aerospace studies at UNL, said.
Cadets are looking up to her because she is one of one.
A couple of students have been selected into the country’s newest branch of the military from the detachment the last few years, but Ziepke is the first woman to get the call.
“I have some females who are underneath me that are looking into joining the Space Force, so I just want to set a good foundation and path for them to follow my footsteps and tackle this goal of joining the Space Force because it is so competitive,” she said.
“I’ve talked to other cadets that are interested in going into the Space Force, and I know that she has been instrumental in being that mentor that she talked about,” Smith added. “So, it’s definitely impacted the people in this detachment.”
Ziepke is one of many members that have added to the UNL AFROTC detachment.
“We develop a lot of very talented individuals here, including Taylor. Most recently, we got the Right of Line Small Detachment of the Year in our region, and it’s because of people like Taylor and her classmates,” Smith shared.
After graduating in the spring from UNL she will head to Santa Barbara, California for six months of training.
“I knew ultimately I wanted to end up somewhere in the space industry, and I wanted to do ROTC, so this just seemed like the perfect plan for me.”
Ziepke shot for the moon. Now, she will be amongst the stars.
To learn more about UNL’s Air Force ROTC detachment, click here. Applications to join next school year are due by December 31.
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