Jack LaFollette
Jack LaFollette graduated from Boone High School in Boone, Iowa in 2013 and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force the same year. Trained as a missile and space systems technician and assigned to Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, he became a member of the 91st Missile Maintenance Squadron. Jack later served as a missile handling team chief, routinely leading a team of airmen in the installation and removal of the Minuteman III’s three-stage, 70,000-lb solid rocket motor.
Jack started an internship at the University of Iowa Operator Performance Lab in 2019. In his time at the OPL, Jack acted as a key member of the OPL flight operations team, helping to support dozens of research sorties involving OPL’s fleet of aircraft including two Aero L-29 trainer jets, two Mi-2 Hoplite helicopters, and numerous unmanned aerial vehicles. In addition to his support of flight operations, Jack helped design and run multiple research studies at the lab, took on a key role in fabrication and maintenance, and was quick to lend a helping hand wherever and whenever it was needed.
Jack died on October 28, 2019 from sudden cardiac death at the age of 24. This scholarship fund was created in honor of Jack's love for space, space science and exploration, and his belief that nothing is impossible.