Cadet Justin M. Ignacio, 21, a 2010 Waiakea High School graduate, was honored as the Air Force Association (AFA) Outstanding ROTC Cadet of the Year.
Cadet Justin M. Ignacio, 21, a 2010 Waiakea High School graduate, was honored as the Air Force Association (AFA) Outstanding ROTC Cadet of the Year.
Ignacio attends Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., where he is majoring in aerospace engineering and is a cadet with the Air Force Reserve Office Training Corps (AFROTC) Detachment 028 “Best in the West.”
The national award was presented at the AFA Air &Space Conference and Technology Exposition in September in Maryland. The conference brings together Air Force leaders, defense industry experts, representatives of academia and specialists from around the world to discuss the issues and challenges facing the United States and the aerospace community today.
Ignacio, son of Jay Ignacio and Ann Ignacio of Hilo, has a 4.0 GPA at Embry-Riddle, where he has been on the dean’s list every term and is a member of the university’s Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society chapter. He was elected Arnold Air Society Squadron commander for the squadron of 78 cadets, largest in the nation, and led the squadron to complete more than 1,400 hours of volunteer service.
He excels at physical training and competition and has donated his time and talents to many efforts and programs on behalf of his college, his squadron and the community, for which he has won awards for meritorious service.