Aviation has surrounded me my entire life. It was only natural that I declared that I wanted to be a pilot at only three years old, and since then I have never looked back. Knowing I wanted to be an airline pilot, I was always driven towards that goal. As a young kid, I always desired to go to the airport and I loved traveling. I have always chased opportunities to get closer to my goal, initially joining the Civil Air Patrol. This program provided me with leadership skills, speaking skills, responsibilities, and positions that I would never be able to have in any other organization. Despite not becoming a pilot through the program, it gave me the skills and experiences I needed to do that on my own. At 15 years old, I began my private pilot training, while also balancing high school and the Civil Air Patrol. This posed challenges for me, but I was committed to my goal of flying solo on my 16th birthday. My workload only allowed me to train on weekends, but that didn’t degrade my experience, as I excelled at maneuvers and ground knowledge throughout my training. I solo-ed shortly after my goal, due to weather, and continued my training to earn my pilot certificate on my 17th birthday. Unfortunately, I was unsatisfactory on the first attempt, which taught me a valuable lesson on self-accountability and recovering from failure. Ultimately, I did earn my pilot certificate just a few weeks later. This experience allowed me to build my maturity in aviation, and to be accountable for the quality of my training; despite the setbacks, I am grateful for the lesson it taught me. Throughout high school, I worked to get closer to my goal and earned an internship at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, working with Airport Development. The privilege of working at the airport and learning about aviation from an airport perspective gave me a different perspective of aviation, that doesn’t just involve airplanes. I was also a founding member of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems program at my school, earning my Part 107 license. This opportunity to develop an aviation education program allowed me to share my passion and knowledge of aviation. As I’ve begun my journey at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, my experiences and knowledge have allowed me to excel academically. Throughout my first two semesters, I have established a 3.96 GPA while also completing my instrument rating and working towards my commercial pilot certificate. Beyond academics, the connections I have been able to establish so far are priceless; being able to connect with like-minded and driven individuals with similar goals has allowed me to succeed in meeting my flight training and personal goals. Being at Embry-Riddle has exposed me to many new experiences and allowed me to gain positions I wouldn’t have dreamed to be possible anywhere else. These experiences include joining the ALPA ACE Club and Latino Pilots association; which have provided me with networking opportunities and experiences I never expected. As I continue my education at Embry-Riddle I plan to complete my commercial pilot training throughout this summer; with the intention to begin certified flight instructor training in the fall semester, followed by my commercial multi-engine rating. I hope to have the opportunity to be a flight instructor at Embry-Riddle and be able to share my knowledge and develop the next generation of aviators, at this prestigious institution until I reach the Restricted-Airline Transport Pilot License. Ultimately allowing me to achieve my goal of becoming an airline pilot.

From an early age, I have always known that I wanted to be a pilot. There has always been an excitement inside of me every time an airplane flies over, or I get the opportunity to fly somewhere. Having parents that work for the airlines just fueled the passion even more and exposed me to various parts of the industry that increased my interest and desire to learn more about aviation. My father exposed me to the maintenance side of aviation, growing up he taught me the basics of how an aircraft works, from the engines to the electronics and everything in between. He has also shared many stories of the work he would do at different airlines throughout his career, and his experience at Aviation High School and first job at Pan American Airways. The many opportunities to go to maintenance control and the hangar have shown me the challenging work of being an aircraft mechanic, as well as the planning and coordination that goes into it. As a pilot, understanding how aircraft maintenance operates at the airline level is a valuable tool to know how my flight can be impacted by different maintenance issues. My mother showed me the hospitality and safety area of the industry, as a flight attendant. Hearing the many stories of different passengers and situations she has been put through has opened my eyes to the importance of safety in the air and the authority over the aircraft that I would have as the pilot. One of the most notable stories is her first flight as a flight attendant, where the 727 ran-off the runway in heavy icing conditions. She has also introduced me to several of her colleagues who have shared their experiences with me. Seeing her at work, and the importance of her job has brought me a level of respect for flight attendants, which I believe many people do not carry. My own interest in exploring aviation led me to join the Civil Air Patrol, where I was able to gain more aerospace knowledge, and develop my leadership and public speaking skills. Throughout my many leadership roles, I served as the Aerospace Education Officer, instructing cadets on different aviation topics and activities to increase their knowledge, before becoming the Cadet Commander of the squadron. My interests also brought me to apply for the Broward County Aviation Department internship program, which I was accepted into at 16 years old. I was placed in Airport Development, where I got to collaborate with project managers, engineers, and architects on different projects across the airfield. I also got to meet with different customers and consultants for past and future projects at the airport and learn the requirements of building on an airfield. My passion for aviation has constantly pushed me to set more goals for myself, including flying solo at 16 years old, and earning my Private Pilot License at 17 years old, as well as my drone license. My love for flying and sharing my knowledge has led me to instructing many teenagers about flying and attaining their drone licenses. This industry has provided me with knowledge to carry into my future, at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University studying Aeronautical Science, and my career as a pilot. Aviation has become a large factor in my life and where I want to be, that I cannot imagine my life without it. Even after I fulfill my path of becoming a pilot, I intend on pursuing more in the industry and continuing to learn about it.

Aviation came to me when I was young. My parents work in aviation, as a flight attendant and mechanic, and two of my uncles are pilots. This led me to be around aviation from a very young age. My whole life, me and my cousin have shared the passion to become pilots. Now that we are older, both of us are working on that path. I've always visited the airport to watch airplanes and have picked up the hobby of aviation photography, which gave me friends of my own in aviation. I also decided to explore other sides of aviation and participated in an internship with the Broward County Aviation Department. This internship gave me a perspective on the airport side of aviation, which I had never seen before. It gave me experience in a real-world work environment and taught me the different aspects of operating and expanding an airport. In my journey to become a pilot, I joined the Civil Air Patrol. I went in to use the program to learn more about aviation and become a pilot. However, the pandemic forced us to adapt to an online setting and caused many of the offered programs to stop. When recovering from the online environment, there were very few members that remained in the squadron. This gave me the opportunity to step up into higher positions. At first, I was promoted to Flight Sergeant, which required me to lead 10 cadets to help develop their knowledge and leadership skills. I was also given other positions, such as Aerospace Education Officer, which allowed me to share my aerospace knowledge and passion with cadets who were also interested. As the squadron began to grow in numbers, I was given the position of First Sergeant. This gave me bigger responsibilities to grow my own skills but also mentor, and lead the entire squadron directly. Then I was promoted to Cadet Commander, which was the highest cadet position in the squadron. The transition was quite sad because it forced me to hand over my role as Aerospace Education Officer, but it was also exciting. Since the day I joined, I told myself "I am going to be that guy. Cadet Commander" and there I was. The transition was challenging because it was a new realm of administrative work and being a liaison between the cadets and the senior members. While I also had to maintain that direct connection with cadets, I also had to be more effective at delegating. Overall, the experience of being in the Civil Air Patrol is not something I would ever trade for and something that I deeply value every day.