Ben Greller | Staff Writer
When senior Ellie Strube steps on the tennis court tonight for her Senior Night match against Bloomington South, it will be her final regular-season tennis competition since she’s decided not to play in college.
For the next four years, Strube, the Trojans No. 1 singles player, will be attending the United States Air Force Academy. She was recently admitted after passing an extreme physical test and showing high ability academically.
When Strube steps on campus in Colorado, she will be surrounded by mostly men. At The Air Force Academy, men make up 79 percent of the enrollment.
“I understand the difference because there is the stigma that men are more strong and they can fill more jobs,” Strube said. “I still feel like there are many things girls can do there and jobs they can fill.”
The Air Force Academy comes with many rules and structures that their cadets must adhere to. For example, cadets must wait until their first-class year to have a television in their room. They must wait until their second-class year to have most electrical appliances, but a third-class cadet may have a coffee pot.
“I guess I’ve always like a structured environment so I don’t mind knowing exactly what I am supposed to do and when I need to be places,” Strube said. “Like they tell you what to wear and I like that stuff so it won’t really bother me much because I know at the end it will be worth it.”
However, Strube has not always been interested in serving in the military.
“I would say my freshman year I didn’t want to serve in the military,” Strube said. “My dad has been in the army for 36 years and we kinda talked about it again my sophomore year and I started to think I could see myself doing that.”
After graduation from the academy, Strube will either owe five years of service or 10 years in total doing flight school. Strube is not positive which route she will go or what she will major in.
“I’ve considered serving until retirement, but we will just see how I like everything and I will decide then,” Strube said.
Strube will be graduating Center Grove as a member of the Top 20 for the class of 2019. She also played tennis at Center Grove, and if she didn’t get into The United States Air Force Academy, she would have gone on to play tennis at either Indiana Wesleyan or Wright State University.
