Pirates' Paul Skenes surprises Pittsburgh-area students at Air Force leadership event
About 400 high schoolers from the Pittsburgh area were exposed to lessons in leadership, service, and potential careers within the Air Force on Wednesday, giving them a behind-the-scenes look at this branch of the military.
It's for All-Star Leadership Day, and it happened at the 171st Air Refueling Wing in Coraopolis.
But before they got to moving around, they had a pretty big surprise as Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes made an appearance.
Skenes is a former Air Force Academy Cadet.
"Never seen him in person before. Especially that close," said Boaz Swift, a 10th grader at Bishop Canevin who attended the event.
The high schoolers got to see C-17s and KC-135s up close. Airmen in different career fields also gave demonstrations.
"This is an opportunity to show how they can take that leadership ability, and desire and focus it towards national interests," Colonel Jason Figley, the 171st Air Refueling Wing's maintenance group commander, said.
The goal is to try to break barriers between the students and the military. They want to encourage them to investigate and explore, Figley said.
"At a younger age, it's scary. It's unknown. And they don't know what it looks like," he added.
Skenes called it "awesome" to see a C-17 again. Being able to have kids see the stations and the aircraft is important, he said.
The star pitcher spoke about the core values he learned at the academy that got "hammered into [his] brain" that have translated into his current life as the reigning National League Cy Young winner.
"At times, I didn't really see the big picture of it. I see the big picture of it now," Skenes said. He believes too few high schoolers know about the opportunities the Air Force can provide.
"There are a lot of people that are itching to serve, whether they know it or not," he said.
Swift says he's thinking about it, and he'll leave a message for others, too.
"Come out here, break the ice, see what you can learn about leadership," he said.
