Ever since I was young, I had the desire to be in the air, flying high above the clouds and seeing the world from above. My dad being a helicopter pilot at the time, would show me pictures he would take from his views over the city of Los Angeles. This was so amazing to me, that a person could be up in the air just like a bird, and see everything from above. Since then, I knew I wanted to be a pilot. Currently, my father is a pilot at Hawaiian Airlines, which is something I would like to do also. I would love to fly for Hawaiian Airlines because I would get to see one of the most beautiful places in the world from the air. I plan to attend school to attain an aviation degree and use this degree to get hired by a smaller airline until I get enough hours and experience to be hired by one of the major companies. My dad is what inspired me to pursue aviation, as I have always looked up to him and he tells me all about his experiences in the air. I also love to travel and would love to travel the world for a living! Throughout high school, I have been involved in extensive community service clubs and activities. I am the elected president of both the Lions and Interact Clubs on campus, in which we participate in many events around the Mountain area. I volunteered to do the annual Crab Feed with the Interact Club, in which we served food to the local community members as well as helped clean up after the event. We also served a Thanksgiving lunch at the Senior center. With Leo’s club, we have made numerous visits to the Oakhurst Wellness Center, where we bring our dogs and get together a group of kids to sing to the old folks. I’ve also made food for the patrons at the Heritage Day dinner, as well as made and served breakfast at the Bass Lake Triathlon and the chainsaw carving convention in the community center. I helped with the restoration of the Wasuma elementary school garden, and the construction of a greenhouse in this garden. We also helped out at the Big and Little Heroes Day at Bass Lake Water Sports, making sure the young kids stayed safe while tubing. With the baseball team, I’ve volunteered at both a camp for the little league, as well as the little league tryouts. Also, this year I helped in CSF with Kids Day, where I stood outside of Rite Aid collecting donations for the Valley Children's Hospital. Later in the year for my senior project, I plan to help with coaching the Challenger little league team, which is for kids of all ages with any sort of disability or special need, to be able to play baseball and have fun. All of these service projects have shaped me to know how much I love to help people and created my plans of joining a service-based club later in my life, as an adult. Thank you for this opportunity to pursue my career as a pilot, and for all your consideration.

I come from a little town just outside of the gate of Yosemite National Park, at, believe it or not, Yosemite High School. We are known as the Yosemite Badgers, and I've been a part of the baseball program there for all four years of high school now, and the senior year season is approaching. I love baseball for many reasons, all of which is why I've continued to play for the last 12 years of my life. I think the best thing for me is the team atmosphere that I feel day in and day out, whether it be at practice, games, or even school. I feel that my players will always be there for me in rough situations, and I know I will always be there for them. Baseball has been my comfort outlet for many years of my life, and I feel like I can express myself and dedicate my effort to it. I also love the sense of mentorship I get from my coaches. My coaches have constantly pushed me to become a better player, which they have been successful in as I continue to grow in my baseball ability. I feel like I can look up to my coaches as almost father-like figures who I can go to if I ever need anything. I'd say that my favorite player of all time would be Justin Turner. I think it's cool that we share the same name and I always thought he seemed like he would be a nice cool guy. I've never got to meet him but I do want to someday. I like his signature orange beard too. I think one of my favorite unique things about him is how he rests his bat on his shoulder and creates his signature line of pine tar on the back of his jersey. He also had a couple of years where he was playing well, but he's needed some help the last few years. My favorite baseball team would have to be the Los Angeles Dodgers because Los Angeles is where I was born and I grew up going to the games with my dad. The Dodgers hold a special place in my heart. Finally, my position and favorite position to play would be anywhere in the outfield. I enjoy tracking down and catching pop flies. My favorite times in practice are when our coach will angle the pitching machine straight up going fast and send us super high pop flies constantly. I'd just like to thank you for this scholarship opportunity and I look forward to hearing back.