Highlands Latin School is proud to announce that four members of the Class of 2026 have received appointments to the United States Air Force Academy: Caleb Bryant, Max Ingram, Max LePrell, and Max McFarland.
The achievement is extraordinary. Each year, the United States Air Force Academy receives approximately 11,000 applications and selects fewer than 1,100 students nationwide. This year alone, Highlands Latin School—a school with a graduating class of just 35 students—produced four appointees to the Academy, representing nearly $600,000 in combined scholarship value across the four students.
This outcome reflects the habits of discipline, service, and excellence cultivated in our community. When asked about the Air Force core values, Max Ingram highlighted one phrase in particular: “excellence in all you do.”
“Excellence in all you do is a perfect motto, I think, for this school,” Ingram said. “HLS persistently asks its students for excellence, whether it’s through homework, tests, or the curriculum that we’re having to learn, study, and master.”
For Caleb Bryant, the desire to serve was strengthened by his studies at HLS. He recalled reading Cicero’s Republic in tenth grade and being struck by the idea that citizens owe gratitude and service to their country.
“One of my biggest motivators is obligations,” Bryant said. “I have an obligation to serve others, to care for them. I have an obligation to serve God. I have an obligation to serve my country.”
Max McFarland spoke of the appointment as something made possible by others. The process, he said, once seemed “like an impossible task.” But with the support of family, mentors, and classmates pursuing the same goal, it became possible.
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned is the value of a community working towards a common goal and a common good,” McFarland said. “That attracts me to the service academies and the Air Force a lot, because everybody is there to serve our country and to serve a higher power.”
For Max LePrell, the Air Force values connect closely with both academic and familial formation. LePrell’s father served and shaped his understanding of integrity and excellence, but HLS helped deepen the reason behind that pursuit.
“The discussion of beauty itself here at HLS gave a drive and a reason behind the excellence,” LePrell said. “You can have excellence, you can have the desire to overcome a challenge. But the reason behind that…HLS has given me probably the best reason for that over my time here.”
Four seniors from one class. Four appointments to one of the nation’s most selective service academies. One shared foundation of faith, discipline, community, and hard work.
Congratulations to Caleb Bryant, Max Ingram, Max LePrell, and Max McFarland on this remarkable achievement. HLS is grateful for the example they have set and looks forward to seeing them use their gifts in service to God and country.
Caleb Bryant
Max Ingram
Max LePrell
