Grand Forks Airman reaches for citizenship & the open skies

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Susan L. Davis
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AFB, N.D. --  Senior Airman Dawid Mludzik, 319th Civil Engineer Squadron structures journeyman, is on a pathway to officially becoming a U.S. citizen.

He, his parents, and his younger brother and sister, are transplants from the southern region of Psary, Poland. They moved to the U.S. in 1997 because of his father's work as a priest in the Polish National Catholic Church. Mludzik was 7 at the time.

They first settled in Scranton, Penn., where Mludzik's father attended seminary. They then moved to Middleport, Penn., for two years, before finally settling in 2001 in the town of Wallington, N.J., which has a high Polish concentration. Mludzik said he considers Wallington his hometown due to the fact that it's the one place where they lived the longest.

Predictably, Mludzik said that one of the greatest culture shocks his family faced when they came to the U.S. was the language barrier. Now, though, only a faint hint of an Eastern European accent gives away that English is not his first language.

"Learning English for me was a challenge, but I was young, and I caught on quickly," he said.

He considers himself very patriotic, and said he believes deeply in the concept of service before self.

"I'm very excited to be on my way to officially becoming an American citizen," he said. "Since I'm in the military, it's a speedier process. I've already sent in the paperwork, now I'm just waiting for an interview."

With his U.S. citizenship within reach, Mludzik can now set his sights on studying aeronautical science at the University of North Dakota, earning his degree in commercial aviation, and commissioning back into the Air Force, hopefully as a C-17 pilot.

It's something he said he's always been fascinated with, and wanted to study in college, but decided to take a slight detour first.

"I've always known I wanted to study aeronautical science, but in my senior year of high school, I decided I didn't want to go into that right away," he said. "I started researching the different branches of the military, and thought the Air Force was the best fit for me because of my interest in aviation. I got into the civil engineering structures career field, which was the perfect choice for me."

He said his family was apprehensive at first about his choice to enlist in the military--it was especially tough for his mother, as he is her first-born child--but they are very proud of him.

Mludzik has many hobbies, such as cycling. He aspires to one day become a member of the Air Force Cycling Team. He is even competing in an upcoming 160-kilometer race to raise money for multiple sclerosis.

He also spends much of his free time training to become a glider pilot at a gliding club in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Mludzik points to a quote from Leonardo Da Vinci, which he says sums up his love of the open skies:

"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."