ELIJAH DEFORE
ELIJAH DEFORE
“I am forever grateful for this amazing opportunity and for being welcomed in by the O’Shaughnessy family. I hope to carry on my pursuit of lifelong learning with the values and mindset that Timothy had and, like him, I will never stop asking questions. I am excited to be a part of the continuation of Timothy’s legacy as I move forward towards tomorrow, again and again.”
Elijah DeFore
College:
Wichita State University
Wichita, KS
Major:
Aerospace Engineering
High School:
Wichita Northeast Magnet, 2025
Wichita, KS
Activities and Interests:
- Varsity Swimming
- Soccer
- Tennis
- Video Production, Directing, and Editing
- Space and Aviation
- Student Ministry
- Business and Finance
Born and raised in Wichita, Kansas, Elijah is the son of two teachers, Tim and Mikelle DeFore. He has two younger siblings, Gus and Lily, and together, the family of five is regularly seen laughing and having a good time. There is rarely a moment where a smile is not seen on Elijah’s face.
Elijah is on track to be a Valedictorian at Northeast Magnet High School in the Class of 2025. He is enrolled in the Engineering Magnet track, where his favorite class is Aerospace Engineering. At Northeast, Elijah is a part of the National Honor Society, the Technology Student Association, Scholars Bowl, Student Leadership, and Student Government.
Outside of school, Elijah faithfully attends River Community Church, where he volunteers with children’s ministry. Over the last 7 years, Elijah has helped with many VBS camps locally and two sports camps in California. Church is an essential part of Elijah’s life because of the many relationships that have formed from it and because it has allowed him to grow stronger in his faith.
Beginning at the age of 5, Elijah has enjoyed playing sports such as soccer with the YMCA and Wichita Athletics, as well as swimming with, first, Aqua Shocks and now Wichita Swim Club. He swims competitively at Wichita East High School, where he is Co-Captain of the Boys’ swim team. Elijah is a varsity swimmer as well as a 4-time state qualifier. He is also the city league champion in the 50 freestyle. This year, he has qualified for the first time in two individual events: the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle. Swimming has taught him the importance of discipline, training, staying motivated, and pushing past mental and physical limits.
Elijah has a love for all things space and aviation. The spectacular sights of the night sky always intrigued him, and places like the Kansas Cosmosphere and Lake Afton Observatory solidified his love for space. He has traveled to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Houston Space Center in Texas, where he got to see Mission Control and rockets, both new and old.
All this has fed his desire to become an Aerospace Engineer. “I will be working towards advancements in Space and aviation and breaking the limits of what was previously thought impossible for humans to accomplish.” He wants to be a pioneer in the new space age, working to develop groundbreaking rocketry and spacecraft as human eyes look toward the Red Planet, Mars. 
This has inspired him to choose Wichita State University, where he plans to major in Aerospace Engineering.