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‘What I’ve dreamed of doing’

With his Carolina diploma in hand and a gold bar on his uniform, Cordell Corbin will go from a UNC Naval ROTC midshipman to a student naval aviator.

Cordell Corbin’s career plan all started in front of the television, watching re-enactments of World War II and Vietnam War air-to-air combat.

Even though he was just in middle school, he set his goal then. He was going to become a military pilot.

“That provided the initial spark and then after that I was looking into it and I was messing around with flight simulators,” he said.

Next week, he will be taking two steps closer to his lifelong goal of being a pilot when he receives his commission on May 13 and then graduates from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in physics the following day.

With his diploma in hand and a gold bar on his uniform, Corbin will go from a UNC Naval ROTC midshipman to a student naval aviator.

Family business

Corbin considers Havelock, North Carolina his home, but growing up in a military family, he moved a handful of times when he was young. Throughout his childhood, Corbin saw firsthand what it meant to serve his country. Both his father and uncle served in the Marine Corps.

“I grew up learning a lot of the Navy-Marine Corps tradition,” he said.

Serving in the military was never an expectation. He was, however, strongly encouraged to attend college. His parents had always encouraged Corbin to pursue his passions.

His passion of aviation —inspired by documentaries on the History Channel — led Corbin to follow his father’s footsteps into the family business. But instead of the Marines, Corbin chose the path of a naval aviator.

Set on achieving his childhood dream and prepared with a charted path, Carolina became the first step to Corbin earning his wings.

“I didn’t want to go to a military academy because I wanted to be able to live both lives — have a military side and also the civilian side too,” he said.

Midshipman to student aviator

With his family still living in Havelock, Corbin knew he wanted to stay in North Carolina for college. The small, close-knit Naval ROTC unit drew him to UNC-Chapel Hill.

At Carolina, Corbin balanced the demands of being a midshipman with his classwork as a physics major. The task was a challenge with extra military training, early morning physical training and mandatory unit duties in addition to his normal class schedule.

“There are quite a bit of extra responsibilities and things you need to do, but it was definitely a good experience and good training for joining the military,” he said. “There were several times I didn’t think I would be making it through this physics degree. I’m glad that I am.”

Despite the rigors of his daily schedule, Corbin quickly realized that he had made the right decision to join the Naval ROTC and head toward a career in the military.

“I kind of already knew I could do it — I knew what I was getting into,” he said. “My time here just solidified that.”

The entire time at Carolina, Corbin never faltered from his primary goal of becoming a pilot, and when it was time to fill out his service selection application, he knew exactly what he was going to apply for.

Competing against midshipmen from ROTC units from across the country, Corbin submitted his application to flight school. Six months later, he learned that he had been accepted into the very selective program.

“It was great and it was definitely a relief,” he said. “I was ecstatic.”

Before he can begin his two-year stint at flight school, Corbin will be closing out his time at Carolina with a big weekend — and a wedding at the end of the month.

When Corbin receives his commission as an ensign, his father, now a retired Marine master sergeant, will be the first to salute the new officer.

“It’s going to be great,” Corbin said. “It’s going to be emotional.”

With his commission and degree complete, Corbin is ready to for the next step in his childhood dream: climbing into the cockpit.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s going to be what I’ve dreamed of doing.”