Former Berkeley Prep volleyball star Delavane Diaz soars to the top at the Air Force Academy.
By CORY SCHOUTEN
Published June 27, 2003
Even before gaining acceptance to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, Delavane Diaz knew the expectations were high.
During the interviews three years ago, someone suggested that she might become wing commander.
"It gave me a lot of confidence that this was something I could aspire to be," she said. "People back in Tampa had high hopes for me."
And Diaz delivered.
Last Saturday, the astronautical engineering major from Beach Park accepted a gold saber and began her three-week term as the academy's highest ranking cadet.
As wing commander, Diaz, 21, is responsible for supervising all activities and ensuring "good order and discipline" for more than 4,000 cadets.
"(The cadets) basically beat by the sound of her drum," said Penny Lucas-White, who coaches Diaz on the academy's volleyball team. "She's like our superintendent who runs the whole base."
Lucas-White said there is no candidate more deserving, or qualified. She called Diaz, who has been named the volleyball team's MVP two years in a row, "the epitome of what the academy stands for."
In 2000, she was voted Florida's volleyball player of the year by Coach and Athletic Director magazine. She also was named the Times All-Suncoast Player of the Year.
During her term as wing commander, Diaz plans to focus on safety. Last summer, the academy lost four cadets in road-related accidents.
She also hopes to establish continuity between semesters - making sure the academy's high standards aren't relaxed over the summer.
"I'll be there to make sure people don't lose sight of everything that's expected of them, going to a military school," Diaz said.
Diaz, who graduated from Berkeley Preparatory School in 2000, was chosen as wing commander after an extensive interview process. Each of the academy's 36 squadrons chose six finalists, and officers used interviews to narrow the list to 25. From that pool, four wing commanders were chosen - one each for two summer terms and the fall and spring semesters.
A female wing commander is somewhat of a rarity at an academy that's just 15 percent female. Diaz is often the only woman in her classes.
She considers the job as wing commander the "greatest challenge" she'll face as a cadet.
