Admissions Liaison Officer

If you’ve been around Legally Blonde AF for a minute, you’re probably tiiiiiiiiiiiired of all the acronyms.

I’ve got government acronyms. Military acronyms. Legal acronyms (and a bunch of Latin phrases too - ick). But this one, “ALO,” is particularly special because it predates all the rest.

THE JOB

ALOs, or “Admissions Liaison Officers,” are people who publicize Air Force commissioning programs, identify and mentor quality officer applicants, and assist in evaluating candidates with the potential to serve and succeed in the Air Force officer corps. Some ALOs, like me, are active duty Air Force officers with liaison responsibilities as a side gig; most, called Primary Duty ALOs, are Air Force Reservists who act as full-time liaisons; and a fair number are retired or separated military members who work as ALOs in their spare time.

As an “additional duty ALO,” I largely focus on mentoring and evaluating applicants for admission to the U.S. Air Force Academy. I’ve been an ALO for four years now (took a break from Cycle 19-20 to get through 1L, a wise move) and it’s one of my most rewarding jobs to date.

BACKGROUND

When I was stationed in North Dakota, a friend of mine showed up to a Bachelorette viewing party in full service dress (the military equivalent of business attire). Like the supportive friends that we are, her outfit prompted full blown ridicule until she finally said “come on guys, I’m headed into an interview.” We were like…an interview? For a military job? At 7 pm? And she said “no, it’s for the Academy! I’m an ALO.”

Cue absolute surprise on my part. I knew about ALOs from my own USAFA experience; while filling out my application, a major physically came to my house to meet my family and conduct my candidate interview in our living room. (At some point, my youngest brother walked by in a towel and my mother nearly killed him. True story. Also, we don’t do house calls anymore).

However, I never dreamed a brand new LT could fill that role. Plus, I assumed the ALO gig was the major’s full-time job. My friend told me that wasn’t necessarily the case, and in theory, anyone could serve as an Admissions Liaison Officer. I just had to apply!

An ALO’s area of operation is based on where they live/work, so when my friend left Minot, I promptly applied for her position. I submitted an application package, interviewed with my Regional ALO Director, and underwent extensive training to become a fully qualified Admissions Liaison Officer. One short trip to USAFA later and the Best and Brightest were headed my way.

RESPONSIBILITIES

For the past few years, USAFA cadet candidates have been assigned a mentor ALO and a separate evaluator ALO. As the names suggest, the two officers serve different purposes. A mentor ALO assists high school students (and in some cases, college students or enlisted Airmen) with completing the Academy application. The USAFA app has all the “normal” requirements of a college application - resume, transcripts, letters of rec, etc. - but also includes a fitness test, DoD medical exam, congressional nomination, and interview. Plus, the app itself is like a four-step process, not a hit-submit-once-and-pray type deal. As a mentor ALO, I’m assigned to cadet candidates very early in the process and remain in contact until they hear back from USAFA Admissions, one way or another.

An evaluator ALO, on the other hand, scrutinizes a candidate’s potential for cadet life and officership via a one-time interview. In any given admissions cycle, I’ll perform virtual interviews for several cadet candidates whom I’ve never met. We communicate via email a few times and then it’s “see you on Wednesday at 6!” Interviews usually last between 45 min and an hour and a half in a classic Q-and-A format, and then I write up a follow-up report for the USAFA Admissions office. Without revealing any secrets, each cadet candidate is truly evaluated on every aspect of their life - “well-rounded” is not just a catchphrase!

While the mentor and evaluator roles are both critical to a USAFA application, ALOs have no say over who is or isn’t ultimately admitted to the Air Force Academy. Once my interview report is submitted, that decision is completely out of my hands! Ditto with ROTC applicants, though I conduct their interviews far less often and their selection process is totally different.

THE WHY

My own USAFA application, circa 2011, is the first time I recall understanding the importance of mentorship. I’m not from a military background, so the Air Force Academy was a foreign concept - I felt unsure about the application from start to finish. But my ALO was extremely patient throughout the process, answering all my questions and putting me at ease during the interview. Now, as an officer on the other side of the tabl - err, computer screen - I love being that person for potential cadets. In my experience, a friendly, personable human is THE best introduction to the potentially scary world of the military.

Plus, at the end of every interview, I make sure the candidate knows that (a) the official part is over and (b) they’re welcome to ask me questions about USAFA or the military, on the spot or via email. At this point, a few of my female applicants have said they were pleasantly surprised to see a female officer on the screen (Riley is confusing, for sure). In most cases, I was the first female servicemember they’d encountered and seeing themselves in me was both comforting and uplifting. Bottom line, representation is IMPORTANT; also (selfishly) I love feeling like maybe I’m “paying it forward” to the school and the officer corps that has given me so much.

And of course, I love an excuse to put down the books and focus on something completely unrelated to law for a change. Writing this blog just isn’t enough, apparently…

THE PLUG

If you read this and thought “hey, [I] [someone I know] would make a pretty good ALO” - shoot me an email! I know a guy. Alternately, if you read this and thought “wow, [I am] [so-and-so would be] totally down for a challenging college app/college experience/life in the military/life in general,” shoot me an email! I am the guy. Always happy to chat.