Major Andrew Gorospe didn’t grow up with dreams of becoming a cadet. In fact, he’ll be the first to tell you, “My path to the Academy was a bit unconventional.” As someone raised outside of the military community, USAFA wasn’t even on his radar until his senior year of high school when a mentor on his travel soccer team first made the connection. After attending Appointee Weekend, Gorospe ran with it. “Given my interest in computers and computer programming, the Air Force Academy stood out as the best fit for what I wanted to study and the kind of career I wanted to pursue.”
That career has since come to fruition while also bringing him full-circle. After graduating in 2013 with a Computer Science degree, Gorospe and his family have moved across the world and back again. Today, Major Andrew Gorospe serves as Deputy Commander of the 62nd Cyberspace Squadron at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, just 25 miles away from where his career journey first began.
Like many grads, Gorospe describes the Academy as “a great place to be from,” but also admits that he had no idea what he was getting into, and in retrospect, maybe that was a good thing. “The first day was a shocker,” he states. “Basic training turned out to be a mental, physical, and emotional challenge unlike anything I had anticipated.”
Still, Gorospe doesn’t see basic training as his one pivotal moment at the Academy. Instead, it was steady access to the community that helped mold him. “One of the most significant lessons [I learned] came from observing both good and bad leaders at the Academy, some of which were through friendship and some of which were through military chain-of-command,” he shares.” I had never considered myself much of a leader before attending USAFA. Even through my officer years, leadership has been a progressive journey, but it was at the Academy where I first truly took it on.”
That foundation proved critical as his career progressed, and especially as his family navigated one of their greatest challenges yet–a PCS from Write-Patterson AFB in Ohio to Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands.
“It was easily the hardest transition,” Gorospe said. “Selling our home while planning an international move could’ve been overwhelming. But Evan at WeVett made it monumentally less stressful than it could have been.” Once overseas, the military community continued to show up. “That support system helped us find our footing and create a new normal.”
Now back stateside, Gorospe finds himself back in familiar territory. Each return to the Hill brings back old memories while creating new ones. This is especially true during WeVett Tailgates, which have now become a family affair. “It’s definitely nostalgic—both being on the Academy grounds and going to the tailgate, except I suppose these are at my own free will!” he jokes. But on a more serious note, “Being able to share a little bit of my past with my family and give them a window into that chapter of my life? That means a lot.”
These are the moments where past and present collide. The Academy friendships that started in the crucible of the Doolie days have outlasted continents and careers. “Some of my closest relationships have lasted over a decade,” he says. “Whether classmates are still in service or not, the bond doesn’t really fade.”
Even meeting USAFA grads he didn’t know during school comes with its own instantaneous connection. “Regardless of class year, being a USAFA grad means you start the relationship with a shared experience,” Gorospe says. “That usually leads to mutual understanding and a baseline of trust.”
And maybe that’s the heart of it, knowing that no matter how far you’ve gone, there’s still a place where people just get it. Where the experiences make sense. Where you can swap war stories. Where the past feels both distant and near.
That’s what WeVett Waypoints is all about, celebrating the winding journeys that begin at the Academy, pass through countless zip codes, and circle back with new stories, new roles, and new roots. It’s about how “home” evolves from a dorm room to a duty station to a tailgate.
As we gear up for another game day at Falcon Stadium, it’s stories like Gorospe’s that remind us where we started, how far we’ve come, and what it means to come home again.