Taking Flight

The University of Idaho is just one stop on Nolan Cumming’s path — but it’s a vital stop. Cumming will graduate in May 2023 with a degree in agribusiness from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and commission as an Ensign in the Navy — one step closer to his goal of becoming a naval aviator.

Take Off

Cumming grew up on his family’s cattle ranch in Jiggs, Nevada and developed a love for aviation. He started flight lessons at age 15 and flew an aircraft solo before he could drive a vehicle. He worked in aviation maintenance at the local airport during high school and wanted a career that would allow him to fly.

Joining the military was always in the back of his mind and after meeting with Air Force and Navy recruiters, and a lot of praying, the path became clear.

“I kind of wrote it off because there was never a guarantee that I’d be able to fly because you don’t always have a say,” he said. “But I put that by the wayside and decided that the adventure and the ability to go into the Navy would be worth it and now the path that I’m on will allow me to fly, hopefully.”

After graduating from high school in 2016, Cumming enlisted in the Navy as an aviation structural mechanic.

“I didn’t know what the Navy would be like,” he said. “If I want to fly, I’m going to have about a 10-year commitment, and I didn’t want to give anyone 10 years if I don’t know what they’re about. So, I decided to do my four years as enlisted and see if I liked it and found out that I loved it.”

Once he knew he was on the right path, Cumming set his sights on completing his goal of flying. Naval aviators are required to have a bachelor’s degree, so Cumming applied for the Seaman to Admiral-21 (STA-21) enlisted-to-officer commissioning program.

The program allows participants to remain on active duty and pays for part of their tuition, fees and books. Only about 50 sailors are selected each year, and of those spots, only a few are reserved for aspiring pilots. After a lengthy process of applications, interviews, retaking the SATs and a little luck, Cumming was selected.

“By the grace of God, I was able to slip into one of those spots,” he said. “I actually got into it selected as an alternate, and no one ever gives up their spot, but come to find out the guy ahead of me was too short.”

Final Approach

Cumming applied to three universities with Naval ROTC programs and U of I was at the top of his list — despite never stepping foot on campus.

“I wanted to come back to the west coast, and I’ve always loved Idaho,” he said. “I needed to submit a degree plan as soon as possible and Ms. Gleason had my degree plan the next day. So, I said, alright, I’m going to Idaho.”

While he did consider majoring in mechanical engineering, Cumming decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursue an agribusiness degree to broaden his education outside of aviation.

“My dad had an agricultural business in Elko, so I grew up living on the ranch and being with my dad and being around his business, so I wanted to follow in his footsteps and do ag business,” he said.

After his first class, he knew he’d made the right decision.

“The professors are incredible. My first class was with Norm Ruhoff and being able to be around him made me stoked about my degree after going through those classes,” he said. “It’s just down to earth, the entire department and college is.”

Cumming hopes to one day use his agribusiness degree on his own operation.

“My fiancée is also from an agricultural background. So, it would be awesome if we had some land of our own someday so we can get back into agriculture,” he said.

For now, Cumming is looking forward to getting back to his passion — and helping others along the way.

“I just want to get in the seat. But you can’t be there just for the flying, you have to be there for the people too,” he said. “They need good officers and I want to be that person. I have met some incredible leaders while I’ve been enlisted so I want to do the best I can when I get there. It’s a lot more than flying.”

Article by Amy Calabretta, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

Published in February 2022