Page 6 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt 1-29-16

Jan. 29, 2016 NEWS Thunderbolt
http://www.luke.af.mil
6 www.aerotechnews.com/lukeafb
SINGING (from Page 4)
‘Reel’ training …
a lifetime filled with choir and church hymns had prepared her
Airman Pedro Mota for this moment. Although this was her biggest football game,
it was not her first. She completed the song to thunderous
Cpl. Jaryee Carl, 6th Engineer Support Battalion bulk fuel company Charlie, and Lc. Cpl. Bernadette Bar- cheers and applause.
ron, 6th ESB support battalion motor transport operator, strap down hose reels with chains recently at
/XNH$LU)RUFH%DVH)XHOUHHOVDUHXVHGIRU¿HOGRSHUDWLRQVWUDLQLQJ The 23-year-old Van Wyk doesn’t remember exactly when
she began singing, but remembers going to nursing homes
Cyber Alert around her hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to sing
hymns with her grandmother when she was 5 or 6 years old.
The Air Force Personnel Operating Activity Cybersecurity Office has been notified that a fake Air
and Expeditionary Forces online website has been created and may be used to capture an Airman’s The progression of her talent naturally brought her into
personally identifiable information. AEF online users are reminded that the official AEF online website the fold of her church’s choir and the various holiday shows of
requires users to select a common access card certificate and enter a PIN to gain access to the website. her elementary school. Following that, she became part of the
Additionally, Airmen are reminded to verify the URL or website address to ensure it does not end in .com. traveling choir of her middle school, and sang competitively in
high school. During her studies at Western Iowa Tech Commu-
at the Combat PT Center nity College, she was a member of the concert and jazz choirs.

LUKE AIR FORCE BASE When she joined the Air Force, she did not expect her sing-
ing to continue as anything more than a hobby.
“No Federal endorsement of sponsor intended.”
“She sings around the shop all the time,” said Master Sgt.
Ann Collantes, 56th EMS NDI NCO in charge. “She’s very
energetic. I’ll be sitting in my office and hear her singing from
outside in the hall.”

The prior section chief faced the same situation upon Van
Wyk’s arrival to Luke as a first term Airman on New Year’s
Day 2014, and having discovered Van Wyk’s love of vocal
projection, suggested that she try out for a national anthem
singer position with the Luke protocol office.

“I went to protocol and they said, ‘Ok, go,’ and I started
singing, and then they were like, ‘Ok, you’re done,’” Van Wyk
said, laughing.

She not only made it onto their list as an official singer, she
was placed in the top tier, which meant that she could sing
at any official event on or off base. This, of course, included
major professional sporting events. It also included memorial
services.

“Those were probably the hardest events I’ve ever had to
sing at,” Van Wyk said.

She doesn’t normally allow emotions to affect the way she
sings, but with the two memorial services she sung in honor
of fallen Airmen in 2015, she says, it was impossible not to.

“At the start of the service, they escort the family in, the wife
and kids, and sometimes they just have no idea how every-
thing is going to go,” Van Wyk said. “At some point, everyone
is crying, and I sing, and at the end they play Taps - that’s
the hardest part.”

After a number of singing engagements, Van Wyk’s talent
began to be noticed in different places, and the demand for
her voice quickly rose.

“After I was on the list, people just started hitting me up,”
Van Wyk said. “People were asking me: Can you sing for this?
Can you sing for that? There was a time where I would sing
twice a week, in addition to my normal work duties.”

Van Wyk is a busy person outside of work, with hobbies
that include snowboarding, running, weight lifting, hiking,
camping, a general affinity for mountains and the outdoors,
television shows, books, good food, a continued education and
a boyfriend. She loves listening to the music of other artists,
like Led Zeppelin, her favorite rock band, or various genres of
Electronic Dance Music when she wants to have pure, simple
fun. Her favorite singer is Patsy Cline, and many of her favor-
ite artists like Etta James, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Nicks, and
even Adele, are mostly from another era.

She is a member in a lot of things, and a leader in others.
She is the president of the Frank Luke Chapter of the Air
Force Association, which she accomplished during her first
year at Luke as an airman first class.

Her aspirations and drive to achieve her goals are high, and
she hopes for the opportunity to commission someday. At the
same time, she details the type of leadership she imagines
expressing when, as she confidently predicts, she becomes a
senior NCO somewhere down the line.

“She’s absolutely an asset,” Collantes said. “When I met
her, she was an A1C and already a trainer in our shop. She
works at a staff sergeant level. She’s one of our best trainers.
She’s very knowledgeable, detailed and great at what she
does. She’s amazing.”

Van Wyk is highly appreciative of all of the opportunities
the Air Force has presented her, giving her not only a career,
but the ability to pursue her love of singing with it.

“I can’t speak for everyone, but for me there have been a
lot of opportunities and the Air Force has treated me well,”
Van Wyk said.