Watch CBS News

Como Park H.S. Student About To Take Flight As J-ROTC Cadet

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- A St. Paul junior is one of 25 high schoolers in the country to spend his summer in an elite Naval academy. He's one of Como Park High School's 120 Marine Corps J-ROTC cadets, and a wiz kid who is about to take flight.

To call Alex Le a star student really doesn't do him justice. His resume will make your head spin -- a full load of AP classes, sports, J-ROTC, and on it goes.

And he's top of his class at Como Park High. He just got a 34 on his ACTs and his weighted GPA is 4.86, but the program this summer is all about his passion for planes.

"It started off as folding like hundreds of little paper airplanes and throwing them, and then adjusting the wing tip and then throwing them again," said Le.

Where do you think that came from? We asked.

"Probably watching a lot of NASA documentaries at a young age," said Le.

But this summer he will learn how to fly the real deal, at the U.S. Navy Summer Flight Academy at Delaware State University, a full ride worth $25,000 to increase diversity in Naval aviation.

The training includes at least 17 hours of solo flights.

Le will also walk away from the program this summer with his FAA private pilot's license.

In true Alex fashion, he's over preparing.

"I've been doing nothing but reading the flight manuals," said Le.

After the U.S. Air Force Academy, he wants to be an Aerospace engineer for NASA or Boeing. But first, he has to graduate high school.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.