Unlike most people, I did not always have an interest in aviation at a very young age. I always thought that I came late to the party, to be honest, and at times it felt a bit discouraging. I discovered my love for aviation during my senior year of high school when I took a ground school provided by my high school out of curiosity. It was there I discovered a new passion and a love for aviation. I learned that there is so much more to aviation than just flying a plane and the curious in me wanted to learn more and more. Telling my parents that I was going to switch majors caught them off guard, but they were supportive and let me pave a new more unknown path. The journey to the airlines and all the unknown in front of me is what makes me want to pursue this degree. It’s intimidating at times, but all the newly acquired knowledge and experience always gives me chills. On a less serious note though the boasting of being able to land a plane sounds pretty awesome too. When I complete my degree in aviation I look forward to two things greatly. The first is the chance to possibly fly for my dream airline in my dream plane. I hope to one day fly for Emirates hopefully in an A380. Their fleet of planes is so beautiful and their routes around the world are amazing. Not only that but the A380 is a work of engineering that makes my mind go wild. Secondly and strangely enough I can’t wait to be a flight instructor. I have had 2 amazing flight instructors here at my university and they just fuel my passion for aviation. They make me want to keep going and I want to give other people that same feeling as student pilots. I want to share my passion and spread the joy of flying. I can’t wait to teach as well as learn with my future students as an instructor. It sounds so far considering I am just working on my PPl, but that is what fuels me. Community and bringing people together are some of the biggest things that make me feel good. Although I am not the most involved person in the world, the things I am involved with make me feel great as they are the communities that I value the most. I am involved in two strong communities. One is here at Mankato State University, I am part of the badminton club here and although we are small we are always looking for new people to join of all skills. We love to teach and learn from one another and we love seeing each other improve. The other community I am strongly involved with only meets twice a year but we make it count. Together we gather in December at La Clinica in St. Paul and take donations of toys and other goods. We then take those donations and pack them in boxes to distribute to over 100 families who have been affected by cancer. On December 16 we then close the clinic and distribute the gifts to those affected in hopes to help for the holidays. It’s a small team of about 20-30 people who do all of this and it is led by a family friend. Communities like this remind me a lot about the aviation community and I think that is also why I love it so much Thank you for considering me for this scholarship. It means a lot.

Unlike most people, I did not always have an interest in aviation at a very young age. I always thought that I came late to the party, to be honest, and at times it felt a bit discouraging. I discovered my love for aviation during my senior year of high school when I took a ground school provided by my high school out of curiosity. It was there I discovered a new passion and a love for aviation. I learned that there is so much more to aviation than just flying a plane and the curious in me wanted to learn more and more. Telling my parents that I was going to switch majors caught them off guard, but they were supportive and let me pave a new more unknown path. The journey to the airlines and all the unknown in front of me is what makes me want to pursue this degree. It’s intimidating at times, but all the newly acquired knowledge and experience always gives me chills. On a less serious note though the boasting of being able to land a plane sounds pretty awesome too. When I complete my degree in aviation I look forward to two things greatly. The first is the chance to possibly fly for my dream airline in my dream plane. I hope to one day fly for Emirates hopefully in an A380. Their fleet of planes is so beautiful and their routes around the world are amazing. Not only that but the A380 is a work of engineering that makes my mind go wild. Secondly and strangely enough I can’t wait to be a flight instructor. I have had 2 amazing flight instructors here at my university and they just fuel my passion for aviation. They make me want to keep going and I want to give other people that same feeling as student pilots. I want to share my passion and spread the joy of flying. I can’t wait to teach as well as learn with my future students as an instructor. It sounds so far considering I am just working on my PPl, but that is what fuels me. Community and bringing people together are some of the biggest things that make me feel good. Although I am not the most involved person in the world, the things I am involved with make me feel great as they are the communities that I value the most. I am involved in two strong communities. One is here at Mankato State University, I am part of the badminton club here and although we are small we are always looking for new people to join of all skills. We love to teach and learn from one another and we love seeing each other improve. The other community I am strongly involved with only meets twice a year but we make it count. Together we gather in December at La Clinica in St. Paul and take donations of toys and other goods. We then take those donations and pack them in boxes to distribute to over 100 families who have been affected by cancer. On December 16 we then close the clinic and distribute the gifts to those affected in hopes to help for the holidays. It’s a small team of about 20-30 people who do all of this and it is led by a family friend. Communities like this remind me a lot about the aviation community and I think that is also why I love it so much Thank you for considering me for this scholarship. It means a lot.

To me, generational wealth means a lot more than just having money to spend. It means a lot of things but one of the most important things that it means to me is that generations no longer need to work a 9-5 to live comfortably without worry. It means that they can enjoy life without boundaries created by money. Generational wealth starts with one generation having a successful financial situation and being smart with their money. This then gets taught to the next generation and so on until future generations have their situation essentially mapped out for them. I associate generational wealth with a dream since I never hear of Mexican families like mine getting to that point in the United States. Generational wealth means freedom for me and the generations after me. Freedom from stress, freedom from pain and suffering, and freedom to do what you please without having to worry if you'll have enough for next month's rent. I want this kind of freedom for me and everyone after me. I want everyone after me to experience the things that we once thought were luxuries and dreams. Life is not all about money but without it, so many restrictions exist. I am aware that stuff like this doesn't happen overnight, but I will do whatever it takes to get there. It's for this reason that I will continue my studies in aviation, to land a career in the airlines. Before I begin the process of building wealth I will pay off my debts first I will then begin my journey to generational wealth. Outside of my job pay, I want to start investing in assets, whether it be stocks or real estate. I want to make sure that I have some sort of passive income coming into my pocket because that seems to be the greatest pick-me-up to generational wealth. Once I am in a position of good wealth I want to expand my branches and make lifelong connections with people in similar situations to me or people in the position I want to be in. I want to learn from these people and see what I can do to better my situation and keep building wealth. I will then educate my future children on the values of these connections and generational wealth so that they too can continue our legacy for our family. If I am successful then my family after me will hopefully live with no worries

I had 2 big influences in my life that inspired me to go into aviation. One was my father who was an air traffic controller for the Air Force in Mexico. His stories about military airplanes always sparked my interest. and I found myself often wondering and observing how planes worked when I traveled on vacation. I frequently used live ATC with him and our shared interest in aviation brought us together and built our relationship a lot more. My second inspiration was the aviation ground school provided at Eagan High School. This class opened my eyes much more to the aviation world and all the carriers within it. It was in this class that I took my first discovery flight on a field trip at south St.Paul airport. I remember feeling an almost out-of-body experience when we took off and my instructor let me take control for a while. I know my passion for aviation came late compared to many other people, but there is not a day I don't want to learn more. Whether it be going on sporty's to prepare for my private pilot written or simply watching airplane videos on YouTube my love for this grows every day. And it is for this reason that I am going to attend Minnesota state university Mankato and take part in their 141 aviation program this fall. My goal is to possibly make it into the major airlines. My dream airline is Delta because I have had nothing but great experiences with them from their planes to their team. My hope is that one day I will be able to give someone the same experience I had in the air as well. My second goal is to be able to travel the world. I love learning about new cultures And what better job to do than the airlines? The ability to see the world from a different lens is fascinating to me. Before all of this happens though I have to focus on my schooling. My hope is to possibly get all of my ratings done and be a CFI at Mankato within my second year or so of attending the college. I will be doing my flight training while getting my degree as well in order to get a restricted atp and be able to go into the airlines with fewer hours. I know this is a hard career but I am determined to make it.

My interest in perusing aviation stemmed from 2 big influences in my life. One was my father who was a air traffic controller for the Air Force in Mexico. His stories always sparked my interest in planes and I found myself often wondering how planes worked when I traveled on vacation. I frequently used live ATC with him and our shared interest in aviation brought us together a lot more. My second influence was the aviation ground school provided at Eagan High School. This class opened my eyes much more to the aviation world and all the carriers within it. It was in this class that I took my first discovery flight on a field trip at south St.Paul airport. I remember feeling an almost out-of-body experience when we took off and my instructor let me take control for a while. I know my passion for aviation came late compared to many other people, but there is not a day I don't want to learn more. whether it be going on sporty's to prepare for my private pilot written or simply watching airplane videos on YouTube my love for this grows every day. And it is for this reason that I am going to attend Minnesota state university Mankato and take part in their 141 aviation program. My goal is to possibly make it into the major airlines and fly all over the world. I know the journey is hard but I am willing and dedicated to do what it takes to get there. What I want most about my carrier is the ability to explore the world and its different cultures. The pay, as well as the benefits, are great but ultimately I just want to see the world through a different lens. As for involvement with my community my family and I help with a nonprofit organization in St.Paul. This organization works through La Clinica. As a family, we give back to our community by giving Christmas presents to families affected by cancer. Every year we are lucky to give up to 100 families Christmas presents with the help of many donations we can make families affected by cancer enjoy a Christmas. I am also involved with a suicide awareness group with my family. Every summer we help sell food at the livin event which takes place in Elk river Minnesota half of our proceeds go to this foundation that helps suicide prevention. These are my two proudest involvements in my community. Seeing people come together for a common cause and seeing people light up is just as amazing as aviation. I would love to be considered for this scholarship. Thank you.

When I was younger my family had to work graveyard shifts. I often came home from school and ate the easiest thing I could make which was often cereal. This resulted in me gaining a lot of weight very young. I often heard the words obese or overweight when the doctors talked to my parents at clinics and I always noticed the room go quiet when they would ask me if I ate a fruit or a vegetable every day. I never thought anything of it at first, until about middle school I often got bullied by the older kids or sometimes the kids of my grade telling me I have "man boobs" or look like a "bowling ball". This caused me to be a very angry kid and I often found myself in the principal's office for shoving the people who said these things to me. I would go home to my parents and tell them what happened and their response was always that I should join a sport and ill lose some of that weight. So I did just that, I joined the middle school soccer team and played for a total of three games and told my mom I hated it because I found myself getting winded and unable to keep up with the others at practice or in the game. I gained more weight and more bullies came with it too. I got sent to the principals more than ever before and it was starting to get physical. That was when my dad had a great idea that I should join a boxing gym. I could get some exercise while blowing off some steam. I later signed up for a small gym that used to be a warehouse that was by my house. I hated it at first for the same reason I hated soccer, but I stuck with it. because when the coaches asked me why I joined and told them it was because I would get in fights for being bullied for being fat they told me that I could harness that and put it to the sport of boxing and be like the pros. This motivated me a lot and I eventually lost a ton of the weight I was previously being picked on for. I began my amateur boxing fights a year into the spot and found little success at the beginning the coaches became more strict and wanted me to lose more weight to fight smaller guys. It wasn't until the fourth boxing fight that I decided I no longer loved the sport. I weighed 130 at age 13 and my coaches wanted me to be 115 for my next fight which was considered underweight for my proportions. I found myself skipping meals and going on 2 mile runs almost every day. I then started getting bullied for something else being too skinny " you're just skin and bone" I often heard or "I can wrap my hand around your arm". My parents noticed this too and when I told them why I was too thin they weren't mad when I quit boxing. Now I am 17 and no longer box, but I practice being healthy in other ways. I go to the gym every day and follow a routine I've had for two years now. I meal prep every Sunday and make meals that suit my dietary needs and goals. I try not to fall into the unrealistic body standards people often make and just do what's right for my goal. And I've never been happier.

My biggest role model is the hardest worker, the funniest person alive, and the pain in my butt. My biggest role model is my little brother, this might be unusual to most people, but truthfully there is nothing I don't admire about him. When he was first born I never thought I would look up to him and see him as a role model. I saw him as the monster who took my mom. I am four years older than my brother, but he acts 4 years older than me. His level of maturity is sometimes I am impressed by. As he has grown up I continued to see his potential with him and honestly I kind of started to envy him. He works for absolutely everything he wants day in and day out, he recently started studying stocks and I walked into his room at one in the morning and he was still doing his research. When I asked him why he told me it was because he wants to retire early. At just 13 years old he is thinking about retirement and he's putting in the work, I can barely think of what to do tomorrow sometimes. He's going into high school next year and when I asked him what his schedule looked like he told me all advanced classes so he could go to the best college possible. It blows my mind just how smart he is and just how dedicated he is to every goal he sets. He is curious about the world and wants to learn as much as he can. I once heard a saying that went something like a son will always look up to his father but no matter how hard he tries the shoe will always fit too big. As much as I want to fill my father's shoes I think my brother has already passed me. And no it's not a competition and he knows this, he is the most loyal person and gives a hand if a hand is needed even if it means he'll come down with you. The qualities my younger brother possessed are those of a strong leader. He's determined, smart, and loyal. For these reasons, he is my role model, and I want to have the qualities he has. Sometimes I wonder if he thinks of me as a role model despite my thinking of him as one. He's truly the best.

There are many people in this world that I admire, but no one comes close to my father. There is a saying I heard once that went something like a son will always try to fill the shoes of his father, but no matter how much he tries the shoe always fits too big. This is one of my biggest fears, but frankly, it's why I admire him so much. I admire the fact that despite coming to America with nothing to his name he has been able to accomplish everything he's put his mind to. His work ethic and ability to pick up anything he wants to in a matter of seconds is something I truly envy. My dad has taught me so much in just about everything, but despite this, he has always told me that "a pencil weighs less than a pale." Implying that no matter what labor skills he teaches me that higher education will land me a less demanding job if I just keep with it. He didn't go to college himself but for this reason, he always tells me that I should go. His work ethic and ability to accomplish everything he puts his mind to have inspired me to college and get a master's degree in criminology so that one day maybe just one day I'll be able to fill those shoes. Now as for speech I only took part in it from my freshman year to my sophomore year of high school. I loved speech, and the reason I joined was because I used to be a very introverted guy in school and didn't know many people. I always heard people and teachers say to get involved in high school but sports weren't my thing. It wasn't until I was in class one day that my teacher came to my desk and put an audition sheet on my desk of speech. He told me that I would be a great addition to his newly made speech team at Burnsville high school. At first, I told him it seemed boring and that I had my head down when he gave me the paper how would he know if I was good? He simply told me to check it out and if I didn't like it I didn't have to join. So I went and when I got there I saw a group of people just as nervous as I was. At first I didn't pay attention to them because I was kind of awkward and didn't know how to start a conversation. Little did I know that in just a week they would be my teammates and I would come to make some of the best friends I've ever made. So it was my turn to audition and at first I thought it was weird and didn't try a whole lot. The coach told me to read this and say this with a British accent. A week later the same teacher came to my desk and told me I was now part of the BHS speech team. I went to my first tournament in Chanhassen in the middle of a snowstorm because my coach fought for them not to cancel so we could all experience a tournament. Not many schools showed up and I didn't final for my drama speech. The second tournament wasn't any different and I grew demotivated. But it was at the mini apple tournament that I fell in love with speech. when I saw my name on the finalist's sheet I knew that my efforts paid off.

As a first generation Hispanic I have seen the struggles that immigrant parents face first hand. Whether it is language barriers or only being accepted to low paying jobs because of your race or legal status, It impacted my parents for years. However my parents were the masters at making situations stress free for me and my younger brother. Multiple times my parents got eviction notices and struggled to provide the next meal, but through all of it my parents kept my brother and I worry free. When we lived in old motels for three months my parents would tell us that we were on vacation and that we would be back at home soon. I remember watching my mom wash our clothes in the motel bathtub so I could go to school some what clean. All of this was brought to light to me when I turned 16, my family now is well off but at the cost years of blood, sweat and tears. My parents have preached education on me for as long as I remember, telling me that as a U.S. citizen I have unlimited doors of opportunity waiting to be opened and that I should take advantage of all of them. They tell me that they only dreamt of the opportunities I have as immigrants. They always tell me that a pen weighs less than a pail, referring to the laborious jobs they had to do when they got to America. For that reason I want pressure a masters degree in criminology. My upmost goal is to join the FBI to prevent mass crimes and to ensure that criminals are punished accordingly. Learning about crime would also help me put an end to crimes that many immigrants face during their journeys to the U.S. like human human trafficking. It would be an honor to me and my family to be considered for this scholarship.