Triton Central valedictorian focused on future with enrollment in Air Force Academy

Like most children, Tucker Hutchinson did not recognize the meaning behind his parents’ decisions. He was always being kept on the straight and narrow by his father, who served in the Air Force after graduating high school.

Now Triton Central High School’s Class of 2025 Valedictorian, Tucker Hutchinson begins basic training Wednesday ahead of his enrollment in the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

“My dad (Nick) served straight out of high school. He enlisted for four years (in the Air Force),” said Tucker just days before heading west to Colorado. “He kind of inspired me and I’ve always grown up with those values. When I was young it was, ‘Why do I have to keep my room clean? All these other things, I don’t care.’

“Now that I am older, I appreciate the way he raised me. I appreciate what he instilled in me. And those are the things he learned in the Air Force.”

Tucker’s plan is to study Aeronautical Engineering with the goal of attending pilot’s school when he graduates to turn flights in his grandfather’s 1956 Piper Tri-Pacer into piloting fighter jets.

Tucker was a standout tennis player at Triton Central and entertained the idea of playing collegiately.

“There was a thought. I visited small schools where I could play like Wabash and Anderson,” he said. “I toured the schools and then visited the Air Force Academy and fell in love with that.”

He also could have gone the ROTC route at Purdue where his tuition would have been covered.

“That was a hard decision. ROTC is easier,” he admitted. “You don’t have to get up every single day and live the military life, but I want to embrace this. I want to be someone that makes a difference.

“That’s really my goal – to serve the country and make a difference. Air Force Academy is that opportunity.”

There was a time when Tucker did not embrace his academic commitment. He didn’t want to sit in a classroom.

“My sophomore year and my freshman year I kind of hated school and wanted to get out of there,” he explained. “I didn’t even want to go to school all day. I wanted to go to Blue River (Career Programs) to do Auto Mechanics because I enjoy the classroom, but I enjoy stuff outside and working on stuff. I didn’t care to be valedictorian.”

Tucker recalls being ranked No. 3 in his graduating class as a freshman. Maturity started kicking in and he realized there were opportunities available to him with a more focused approach.

“I realized I was right there. All I needed to do was take an extra class. That is when the switch flipped,” he said. “I should want to be and do the best that I can and put my full effort into everything. As I realized that, it’s not the title of valedictorian (I wanted) but I don’t want to take back what I learned about myself and that work ethic and devotion I did my junior and senior years of high school.

“Those are things that have made me who I am. Those are things I have learned that are invaluable. If I hadn’t learned the work ethic, I don’t know if I would have even applied to the Air Force Academy because their application is so freaking long.”

Tucker has spent the month of June relishing every moment with friends and family. Boot camp is a six-week stretch without electronics so he will lose contact with everyone until classes start.

“It came fast but I have really made the most of everything and really spent time with my family, with my girlfriend, with my friends,” he said. “I am making an effort to take everything in because once I leave, I am starting a new life. I am never going to be in Indiana, in Shelby County and feel the same way. I am really appreciating everything.”

There is potential for leave in October if the Air Force Academy grants his request to return home for his sister’s wedding. Otherwise, his first break will not be until Thanksgiving in late November. His first extended break will be over the Christmas holiday.

“I will miss the comfort and familiarity and my family. All my family is here, and I won’t be able to live here for about 15 years,” he said. “I will miss our family get togethers just randomly and hanging out with my parents. There is a sense even just being here, I don’t miss my family because I don’t have to go see them. But once you lose the ability, you realize you liked handing out with them.

“You can’t take that for granted. Now I know how much the little things matter.”

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