2015 Rhea County High School Graduate earns Civil Engineering Degree

May 2020 Knoxville, TN --  Kadee Klimowicz recently entered the Air Force after obtaining a Civil Engineering Degree from the University of Tennessee.  Kadee is the dauhter of Aimee Rose and William Klimowicz.   She graduated from RCHS in 2015 and majored in Civil Engineering at UT.  She begins the next step in her career as a Second lieutenant in the United States Air Force, in the Space Ops field.  Kadee headed out to Vandenburg AFB,  in Lompoc, California. Kadee was kind enough to answer a few question about her journey. Why did you choose to attend the University of Tennessee? Kadee said, "I chose UT for its well-known engineering program, and the VOLS (hard to be a Vols fan at times, but it's in my blood). What was your toughest challenge in the classroom while attending UT. "The toughest class I had in engineering was Calculus II--the grueling integral pushed me to a higher understanding and made me pay respect for all the brilliant mathematicians that came before all of us." When and why did you choose to enter the Air Force? "The Air Force was first a vessel for me.  I did not want the financial burden of school on my parents, and the ROTC scholarship gave me a opportunity to be debt-free.  However, from the moment I started, the constant improvement of myself, the team-spirit, and sense of service and integrity that the Air Force teaches made me stay and give it my all (even when I hated waking up at 5AM for PT)." Talk a little about your out of class activities during school? "I was a cheerleader and ran track in high school. At UT, I was a part of SWE (Society of Women Engineers), the UT Sailing Club, and the UT Ski and Snowboarding Club.  DYW elevated my ability to communicate and lead from the moment I joined the program.  Having that confidence helped me endure the toughest moments in the ROTC program, leading 24 other cadets through assult courses at Field Training or giving extensive briefs in front of my commander." You were the Rhea County Distinguished Young Woman of 2015, which had to be a great honor.   Give us insight into the Distinguished Young Women Program in which you participated? "DYW was a program that I continually feel so grateful to be a part of--it teaches young girls they have a spark, an ability, and a purpose to make a change in this world." What is your next step in your career? "I am now awaiting training at Vandenburg, AFB, CA for Space Command and Control.  The course is approximately 9 months where I will be taught space surveillance and space launch systems." What was the impact of COVID-19 on your last year of college? "When COVID-19 struck, I was at the pinnacle of the testing process of my senior design project, where my team and I created a portable water treatment device for wastewater effluent to create potable water in the purpose of brewing beer.  Every constituent testing for the device had to abruptly stop .  Our team will still be trying to carry out the project throughout the summer and presenting this device in the Fall at the WEFTEC conference.  COVID-19 taught me that flexibility is the key for success."