In my life, I have been blessed to receive help from those around me. My loving parents, mentors, and leaders have always been there to provide me with the help I need. While this help doesn’t include doing hard things for me, it makes it so I can my trails and challenges better learning experiences for my life. I have also had many opportunities a leader, and these opportunities have made me passionate about helping others become the version of their best selves, just like my leaders have helped me. I had the amazing opportunity to serve a 2 year, full-time volunteer mission for my church in Brazil from 2022-2024. I was able to feed the hungry, organize and support community projects, serve the elderly, participate in long distance assistance efforts for the Rio Grande do Sul floods, and much, much more. I had so many opportunities to serve, and in that serve, I began to change. I saw how serving changed me, and this made me realize the impact that service has on a person. I wanted to help others also see that change in themselves, and about 9 months after I arrived in Brazil, I received that opportunity. I was appointed to become a leader of other service volunteers in different regions. I was first appointed to serve as a “district leader,” where I directly oversaw the volunteer efforts of about 10 other volunteers in the area. I worked hand in hand with these people, creating a deep connection with them. About three months later, I was appointed to serve as a “zone leader,” a leader assigned to oversee the volunteer efforts in the city of Presidente Prudente, São Paulo. I was later called to oversee the volunteer efforts in the city of Cascavel, Paraná. I served in these different leadership positions for the rest of my time in Brazil, helping the volunteer efforts move forward in those specific regions. I ended my service in Brazil in December of 2024, traveling back to the United States to reunite with my family after having been away from them for two years. Now, why does this all matter? Why was it worth serving others and then leading efforts to help other volunteers? It matters because it helps the individual change. We can always give things to people, but what will really help others is striving to help them become someone better, someone more capable, someone more grateful. This is where leadership comes in. Leadership, in my experience, is the direct supervision of growth. A leader does not do things for those they are leading, nor do they tell others what to do. A true leader helps others become self sufficient, providing the help necessary for others to learn how to solve their own problems, to become better. Leaders guide, direct, and nourish. They don’t command, punish, or neglect. In Brazil, I had this very opportunity to lead other volunteers, helping them find their purpose in their service, helping them find joy in helping others, and helping them change. Even though some of them had a hard time being a full-time volunteer, they were able to change, and then later recognize that change in them. I was the most happy in my service as a leader when those I lead noticed the change they saw in themselves. I was happy when they were happy in their service. I will continue to go forward leading. I have chosen to pursue aviation. I plan on becoming one that will help others progress themselves in the aviation industry, creating a safer experience for all.

My name is Reed Miles, an aspiring pilot with a deep love for aviation and community service. This scholarship will help me because become a pilot is a massive investment, over $100,000 for just the flight training, and is very taxing on students who pay for it all themselves, like myself. I want to thank Dream Valley Landscaping for this opportunity of helping students like me achieve their dreams. Ever since I was young, I have been intrigued by aviation. At the time I was born, I lived in Las Vegas, Nevada, right by Nellis Air Force Base. I have a picture of myself as a toddler pointing up to the jets passing overhead. My curiosity increased as I grew, but because of how far-fetched becoming a pilot seemed, I never thought I would fly. I continued in schooling, pursuing math as a career, though I did not have a passion for it. One day, my best friend invited me to take a senior year aviation introduction with him. I decided to take the aviation class instead of my planned calculus class. This single decision changed and is continuing to change my life. Through this class, I developed a passion for general aviation, along with a dream to fly. I did a flight with a local flight school but was disappointed when I quickly discovered that flight training would require thousands of dollars. I realized my dream would be a little harder than I expected. But I never gave up. I received my Private Pilot’s certificate in 2022, before choosing to put aside my aviation dreams and goals for a time and give back. In January of 2023, I commenced my full-time community volunteer service in Brazil, in the areas surrounding the city of Londrina, Paraná, where I stayed for 23 months, without returning home. I had the opportunity to lead other groups of volunteers, serve the elderly, organize and teach free English classes, run community service projects, feed the poor, and much, much more. This experience changed me. Through my unique volunteer and leadership experiences, I gained a unique perspective on life, as well as applicable management, foreign language, and skills. There were many moments, especially in the language learning process, that I failed. I failed over and over again. But I knew the more I failed, the closer I would be to succeeding. I continued to talk to natives, putting myself out there and talking with everyone, asking for correction. It was very humbling. Eventually I became fluent in the Portuguese language, and I because of that I have learned a valuable lesson about failing. I have learned that the more times I fail in life, the more I succeed. I consider perseverance, humility, and empathy some of my greatest attributes, because with these traits, will never give up on my goals, but always be grateful for where I currently am, and always look to help others on their paths. I will never regret the 23 months I spent learning from and serving the people of Brazil. My service opportunity finished in December of 2024, and I returned to the United States. I decided to go straight to college, I am now attending Utah State University, once again pursuing my dream, that is, becoming a leader in aviation. My goal isn’t just to fly jets, but to make a difference on the aviation industry and the people around me. I have the desire to lead and serve, and I will do everything possible to do this as my profession.