Alumni Profiles

Emily Cole '04 was named the national Airman of the Year last August, the first National Guard member to ever win the competition. Four years ago, she achieved a different first: the first home-schooled student in the state to join the Air National Guard.

A native of Madbury, N.H., and one of nine children, Cole says home-schooling made a difference in her outlook. "As a teacher, my mother encouraged me to work hard and learn about the subjects I was really interested in," she says. "She taught me how to go after what I wanted with focus and passion." A political science major at UNH with a minor in English, Cole graduated summa cum laude in May.

Today, Cole works full time as an intelligence applications journeyman with the 157th Air Refueling Wing at Pease Air National Guard Base in Newington, N.H., a job that involves working closely with aircrew to give them tailored intelligence, particularly when flying in high-threat environments. She served three weeks in Qatar, an experience that she says gave her "an appreciation for the physical hardships these soldiers were living under."

Cole is also a competitive road cyclist who joined the UNH club cycling team her senior year. "It's a lot fun," she says. "That's the way I am-anything I like to do, I just go for it with enthusiasm."