It is 6 a.m. and already the activity is stirring for a first-year college student that made his mark not only as an athlete at Bridgeport High School, but more importantly as a student. Unlike a handful of first-year collegians, this student isn’t coming in from a long night on the town.

 

For Jacob “Jack” Funk, the 6 a.m. regimen is routine. He’s getting into the uniform of the day, checking to make sure his room is dusted, there is no debris on the ground and is essentially tidy. Funk double checks to guarantee every lock and his laptops are secured.

 

Twenty five minutes later, he’s walking around making sure others are doing the same thing. He glances at rooms, makes sure they’re in the same condition so that it can pass muster by a superior. At 6:30, Funk’s new duties and his day begins.

 

No, Funk isn’t a commuter to an area school that has some really disciplined parents. And no, those rooms he’s checking into aren’t those of siblings or guests at the Funk household. Instead, as a freshman at the prestigious Air Force Academy, he’s earned the position of Flight Chief for his squadron.

 

“I was given the position of Flight Chief for my squadron by training staff, which is made up of upperclassmen from my squadron. In other words, I am the representative/leader for the 27 other freshmen in ‘Stalag 17,’ my squadron,” said Funk. “As flight chief I have to keep accountability of my classmates for any training or military event meaning that I have to know where my classmates are, if they are at the event, if they aren't and why, and keep my classmates organized throughout whatever situation is going on.”

 

Think about this honor for just a second. In order to get nominated to attend an academy, you have to be among the elite high school students in the country. To be accepted puts you even further up the food chain. And to have this honor among his squadron, speaks even higher to the character and caliber of the young man that is Jacob “Jack” Funk.

 

Here’s the deal with his new title, there are other responsibilities beyond what he just mentioned – plenty of them. He leads exercise created by the training staff and has to delegate responsibility for the best plan of attack. If Funk comes up short, he’s punished, or as he said “beat,” which translated at the Academy means plenty of additional exercise in the form of pushups, burpees (Google it) and other physically demanding activities.

 

“My final responsibility is to communicate with all of my classmates and training staff to assist in scheduling the training events for that week, solve issues, and help maintain the required standards for the freshman,” said Funk.

 

All of those chores doesn’t give Funk a pass on the other standard items he faces in his first year in Colorado Springs. After getting things in order with his squadron, classes start at 7:30 a.m. At 11:33 a.m. the meal formation begins; and it actually is a formation to head out for a bite to eat.

 

“You and your squad form a formation and march with the rest of the Cadet Wing to lunch,” said Funk.

 

Classes then resume at 12:30 p.m. and conclude at 3:30 p.m. For Funk, the days vary a bit with three or four one-hour classes. Free time is spent studying and doing homework, which as his schedule shows isn’t a whole lot.

 

The rest of the day is also filled. At 4 p.m., there are often training sessions that usually go until 5:30 p.m. If that doesn’t happen, he heads to the gym for a workout. That’s followed by freshening up and getting dinner.

 

“At 7:15 evening Military Calls to Quarters begins and there may be a second non-physical training session for the day (which according to Funk is learning how to give briefs or go to a Wing Wide brief),” he said. “At 7:50 MCQ ends and Academic Calls to Quarters begins and from then until about 11 to 1 a.m. I am doing homework or tutoring other freshman.”

 

That’s a typical day. For someone like me, that’s hardly typical. Here’s the thing, Funk said adjusting to that part of the Academy was actually a smooth transition compared to what was before it.

 

“The adjustment to the Academy was a relief after basic cadet training, but initially I struggled to meet the high amount of demands that needed to be met each day physically, academically, and militarily,” said Funk who was a standout cross country athlete last year at BHS. “It took me about a week of little to no sleep and high stress to adjust and become develop a schedule and the time management to effectively meet the expectations.”

 

Time management at any academy is key to success. Considering Funk is studying Aerospace Engineering. His minor? It will be either Chinese or mathematics.

 

“This semester I am taking Engineering 101, Chinese 131, English 111, Advanced Placed Calculus 2 (Math 152), and Chemistry 110 honors,” said Funk. “I validated Math 141, Math 142 putting me a semester ahead in math, and Chemistry 100 and was placed into the honors version of Chemistry 110 (equivalent of a sophomore level class).”

 

The goal is to be one of two things. Fund hopes he will be a design or development engineer. If not, a test pilot is also in his mind as a possibility.

 

Pretty impressive no matter how you slice it. For those that know Funk, they’re probably not surprised with why he believes he’s prepared already for the journey he’s embarked on.

 

“I could not have been prepared any better for the Academy and would like to thank all of the staff at BHS for this. The outstanding administrators, teachers, and coaches I had at BHS are one of the largest reasons I was able to gain admittance to the Academy and why I have had a successful start here,” he said. “From these individuals I gained many of the leadership qualities I am utilizing every day, perseverance, and the skills to allow me to quickly adapt to the many demands on my time while others struggled. I am confident in all of my classes and my ability to tutor other students because of the quality academics I received and even at over 7,100 feet I was physically fit enough to perform well athletically thanks to the coaches I was under. I thoroughly believe that no other high school could have done this for me because no other high school has the quality education, staff, and environment that BHS does.”

 

Humble, smart and a future protector of our country. He’s still a young man, but wise beyond his years.

 

If you see him during a brief break at Thanksgiving, time off at Christmas or time back home this coming summer, let him know you appreciate him. As you can tell from the comment just above and the one below, he appreciates what he was given here in Bridgeport.

 

“I would like to say thank you to everyone who helped me achieve my goal. I could not have gotten here without the love of my family and friends and the dedication of many faculty at BHS and thank them all for their support,” he ended.

 

Thank you Jack. You’re representing yourself, your family, your school, your city, your state and your country in exemplary fashion. Well done C4C Jacob Funk, United States Air Force Academy, Class of 2020.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Jacob "Jack" Funk at Parents Weekend with mother Amy, left, and sister Danielle, In the second photo, he's shown during his senior year running as part of the BHS cross country team, while he's shown with Maggie Lohmann as the couple were named Mr. and Mrs. BHS. Bottom photo is another of Funk during Parents Weekend.