Daniela Velasco Posada
While most 18-year-old girls are scrolling through Pinterest looking for dorm room inspo, East High senior Daniela Velasco Posada is planning her departure to the Air Force.
May 25, 2023
Velasco Posada’s dream to join the Air Force started when she joined ROTC. This dream began early on while she was attending Garton Elementary and Hiatt Middle School. She has always been a fast learner and patient when teaching others.
“I’ve always had the interest of joining ROTC, but I never had the guts to,” Velasco Posada said.
ROTC is a program for Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. It’s a journey where you develop skills to become an officer in the military. You learn discipline, leadership and even self-confidence. Getting out of your comfort zone is always scary but worth it.
“It’s just like being a police officer but you know, in the Air Force,” Velasco Posada said.
In the Air Force, she will be doing security forces.
“If you join ROTC it doesn’t mean you’ll be in the military,” she said. Joining this program doesn’t mean you have set your life to fight for this country, it can simply be just doing something good for yourself. Outside of East, she works at Michaels, the arts & crafts store in West Des Moines.
“She always makes me laugh and cares about the people she loves,” senior Isabella Apolonio said.
Apolonio is Velasco Posada’s best friend, and they’ve known each other for a long time. She fully supports Velasco Posada’s transition and process to the Air Force. Apolonio describes her as funny, thoughtful, creative and adventurous.
“I chose creative because she makes things like blankets and she likes to take care of plants,” Apolonio said.
In general, Velasco Posada is beauty, inside and out. She is loving and puts others before her. She is also a middle child. Her older sister has a 9-month baby, which makes her a recent aunt.
“She’s really cute and she does not bother at all,” Velasco Posada said. She is definitely experiencing baby fever with her adorable baby niece.
She and her sisters are only two to three years apart. Her parents are great, loving people and they are all very close. They go on lots of road trips and spend time together as a family. All these incredible traits make her an amazing candidate for ROTC, for a friend, a sister or simply a decent human being.
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