Jake Wallrichs will study aviation, play tennis at the University of Dubuque
MARION — Jake Wallrichs wants to be a pilot someday so he can travel the world.
“I want to experience everything possible,” said Wallrichs, 19. “I wasn’t able to find a job that allowed me to do that until I stumbled across aviation. Watching the sun rise or sun set from 30,000 feet in the sky has been an ultimate dream of mine.”
Wallrichs is one of 539 Linn-Mar High School students graduating at 1 p.m. today at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse, 350 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids.
While at Linn-Mar, Wallrichs played tennis — a sport he “fell in love with” at an early age — and basketball. He went to state for tennis his sophomore and senior years.
Wallrichs said when he was young, his parents asked he find a “lifelong sport” such as tennis or golf. He found golf to be boring, but tennis is “fast paced, and every shot is different.”
Being on a team has showed Wallrichs that he doesn’t need to be a leader. He can let other people step up and contribute, he said.
Wallrichs still remained on the tennis team last year after a season-ending injury. His tennis coach, Chris Wundram, said while many students would take leave for the season, Wallrichs became his “right hand,” which got him the nickname “Coach Jake.”
“I don’t think most kids would show that type of maturity. He just wanted to be a part of the team,” Wundram said.
Wundram said Wallrichs has a personalized license plate that says he’s no quitter. “Some times people razz him about it,” Wundram said. “His mentality is he’s going to put his head down and get the job done. He’s a silent leader.”
“There’s not a lot of Jakes,” Wundram said. “He’s professional and shows sportsmanship on and off the court.”
Now back to playing tennis, Wallrichs will continue to play this fall at the University of Dubuque, where he will study aviation.
His “ultimate goal” is to be a pilot for American Airlines, Delta or United. He hopes to eventually have lived in the “the four corners” of the United States, to better travel the world. Those corners are West Palm Beach, Newark, Seattle and Phoenix.
“Say you live in Florida and take a long-haul trip. You wouldn’t fly to Hawaii because Hawaii is off the West Coast. You would fly to Europe and Germany and Africa,” Wallrichs said. “I have access to every corner of the world based on where I live in the U.S.”
Wallrichs did a discovery flight through P&N Flight School at the Marion Airport. A discovery flight is a short flight where students are assigned to a certified pilot instructor who guides them through the steps to safely fly an aircraft.
“The instructor took me up, and as soon as we reached our cruising altitude, he let me take the reins,” Wallrichs said. “It felt so freeing.”
Wallrichs said his family instilled in him a love for travel. They frequently took vacations together. One of his favorite experiences was driving to and from Idaho, traveling through South Dakota, Colorado, Utah and Montana.
Graduating is “bittersweet,” Wallrichs said. His time at Linn-Mar has meant a lot to him.
“I’ve been able to grow as a person and an athlete, and I think Linn-Mar shaped me into a person who contributes to the community and to my family,” he said.
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