Future of Aviation Scholarship

Growing up I did not have a lot of positive consistencies. It is strange, but in a way endearing, to say I went to three different high schools in three different states. I moved around a lot, often sharing houses I never got to call a home and it seemed the boxes that held our stuff also contained no secrets of the freedom I so desperately strived the find. It took me a while to truly find what I wanted to spend my life doing. I started in art, working my way to political science, and obtaining my associates degree for mechanical engineering at my local community college. I was looking for a school to further my education. I would not have gotten this far without my family’s continuous support and belief. We signed up for two tours at Embry-Riddle: one for mechanical engineering and one for aeronautical science. Now, I had no experience with planes, as far as I knew, people were born as pilots and knew exactly what they needed to do out of the womb. Not really but that is the amount of knowledge I knew about the industry. Where I grew up, no one knows better than that. It is not taught to us. I am determined to know better than that. I want to know what was not taught to us. My family stayed in Daytona for the weekend. Watching the planes take off like clockwork is a memory I will never forget. Touring the Riddle facilities is an experience I will never forget. That is what locked me in. I was good at engineering, but there still seemed to be a question mark with what I wanted to do with that degree. I get my bachelors then what? I knew for work that I wanted to be an active participant in it. A lot of engineering is done online and that did not seem to fit what I wanted to do. But aviation did. I was locked in and sold. Right there, right then. I was on my discovery flight, soaring the skies and flying through clouds of excitement. I applied to Embry-Riddle and got accepted. I will be starting my second year at Riddle this coming semester. It is such an incredible opportunity to be able to sit in classes with lectures about aircraft performance, turbines, and aerodynamics; to be able to apply those classes to flight…I am working on my private pilot, with around 30 hours of flight experience and 15 hours simulated. I passed my ground labs for Private and Instrument. I want to become a CFI and have that lead to becoming a cargo pilot. Watching my instructor has really inspired me to want to help people get to their solos. I can not phantom just how validating and amazing of a feeling it is for the student and teacher. I am apart of Women in Aviation because although those are just goals and dreams now, being in this club makes me feel one more step closer to achieving them. Despite being a premature baby, I am often left feeling as though I had a late start in life. I was 24 years old when I was certain on what I wanted to do in life. Time does not slow down for anyone, even when you had an “early start”. I am taking the time that I have left and doing the most with it. Aviation is my present and my future. I want to become a great pilot. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to do so.

It all started with a bang! Sadly, that is not how my story goes. I wish I had one of those great stories that have the moment when I just knew I wanted to be a pilot, but I don't. I always think about my future. It is one of my favorite daydreams. However, as a kid I found it really difficult to pick a field to go into that I was passionate about. I was one of those kids that had to be the smartest in the class and had their entire future planned out. I really enjoyed math and science classes so I thought maybe going into the medical field like my parents. However, once I got into dissections in eighth grade I realized that wasn't for me. During eighth grade, a lot of things started to shift my focus to aviation. During eighth grade, I got to fly for the first time. I really loved it. It was so beautiful up above the clouds and I loved the idea of traveling. My first flight is what initially got me thinking about aviation. However, during that time, I thought it wasn't really feasible for me based on where I went to school. I live in a tiny farming town named Grant. We may have a lot of big tractors but not a lot of big airplanes. The second thing that triggered my interest was when, one day while on a walk, my grandpa told me of a high school right next to the Grand Rapids airport that taught high schoolers how to fly. Now, the Grand Rapids airport is still an hour away from my house but my grandpa happened to work at GE avionics right next to the airport. He said that if I got into WMAA then he would drive me to school every day. This was the final puzzle piece that needed to fall into place, however, I was really scared to leave all of my friends behind. I had grown up in this town, and I knew everyone in it. I also wasn't sure if I wanted to give up music just yet. The music program at Grant is huge and WMAA doesn't have one. I spent about a week thinking about my decision. Did I really want to jump headfirst into a pool of aviation that I knew nothing about? Well, I did, and I do not regret it for a second. I love WMAA. Every day I get to sit and listen to lectures about aerodynamics and aircraft performance. I am currently on track, thanks to WMAA, to get my Part 107 Drone license along with my Private Pilots license by the time I graduate. I can see my future clearly. I have already passed my First Class medical certificate and I am ready to see what college has for me. When I daydream about my future I first see college. I would like a college where I can achieve my Bachelor's Degree in Aviation and a flight program where I can work my way up to CFI or CFII. I have many colleges in mind, like Embry-Riddle or Florida Tech, but out-of-state tuition is really high. If I got this scholarship I would use it to help make my dreams of becoming a pilot come true. I would be able to go to a college that has a program that fits my wants and needs so that I can become a great pilot.