Where do I start... I was always immersed in aviation. As a young child, my father would put me on the roof of his car, and sit there with me watching planes land over the threshold. In South Africa, where I grew up, this became a common thing for my father and I to do, and, in hindsight, it is what sparked my love for aviation. Over the years, as I have grown up--one thing remained constant, the fact that I wanted to become a pilot, flying those planes that flew over my head when I was a young child. Skip forward a few years, I now reside in the San Francisco Bay Area where I am enrolled in San Jose State University, in their aviation program with aspirations to attain a major in Aviation, and a minor in Business. With this degree that I will achieve, I care to know the inner workings of this industry, and where my place lays within it. Within my Aviation Program, I am on the Professional Flight path. This path is the path that those who want to become commercial pilots take--something I am planning on pursuing. So far, I am sitting at about 35 hours and am in training to achieve my Private Pilot Certificate sometime soon. When I am in the air, I have an overwhelming sense of belonging, specifically in the sense that this is what I want to do, and will do. The only barrier in my way is funding. Currently, I work at a local flight school as an Operations Support Specialist. The vast array of people that I have met, and different industry positions, per se, that I have interacted with opened my eyes to the diversity within Aviation, and just how many different areas have to align to assure the smooth running of day-to-day flights. The knowledge my job has afforded me has been invaluable, and will continue to guide my endeavour deeper into the aviation industry--where I hope the people I interact with, leaving having a better day. Growing up in South Africa, the importance of community work has always been stressed. I have volunteered at many different animal shelters, as well as orphanages where even doing the most medial work gives you a perspective on life that sticks with you for the rest of your life, and reinvigorates your desire to do more good in the community than you previously have. Within the aviation realm, I have volunteered at a non-profit called "Aviation Buds." This NPO provided lessons to little kids showing them the beauty of aviation, where we hoped to inspire these future minds to pursue a career in aviation. Without my community work, I would be nothing as the different perspective it has afforded me and shaped my outlook on life.

Where do I start... I was always immersed in aviation. As a young child, my father would put me on the roof of his car, and sit there with me watching planes land over the threshold. In South Africa, where I grew up, this became a common thing for my father and I to do, and, in hindsight, it is what sparked my love for aviation. Over the years, as I have grown up--one thing remained constant, the fact that I wanted to become a pilot, flying those planes that flew over my head when I was a young child. Skip forward a few years, I now reside in the San Francisco Bay Area where I am enrolled in San Jose State University, in their aviation program with aspirations to attain a major in Aviation, and a minor in Business. With this degree that I will achieve, I care to know the inner workings of this industry, and where my place lays within it. Within my Aviation Program, I am on the Professional Flight path. This path is the path that those who want to become commercial pilots take--something I am planning on pursuing. So far, I am sitting at about 35 hours and am in training to achieve my Private Pilot Certificate sometime soon. When I am in the air, I have an overwhelming sense of belonging, specifically in the sense that this is what I want to do, and will do. The only barrier in my way is funding. Currently, I work at a local flight school as an Operations Support Specialist. The vast array of people that I have met, and different industry positions, per se, that I have interacted with opened my eyes to the diversity within Aviation, and just how many different areas have to align to assure the smooth running of day-to-day flights. The knowledge my job has afforded me has been invaluable, and will continue to guide my endeavour deeper into the aviation industry--where I hope the people I interact with, leaving having a better day. Growing up in South Africa, the importance of community work has always been stressed. I have volunteered at many different animal shelters, as well as orphanages where even doing the most medial work gives you a perspective on life that sticks with you for the rest of your life, and reinvigorates your desire to do more good in the community than you previously have. Within the aviation realm, I have volunteered at a non-profit called "Aviation Buds." This NPO provided lessons to little kids showing them the beauty of aviation, where we hoped to inspire these future minds to pursue a career in aviation. Without my community work, I would be nothing as the different perspective it has afforded me and shaped my outlook on life.