The world is a big place when you’re three years old, it’s much easier to see it all looking down from the passenger side window of a Cessna 172. I often look at the photos of me in my grandpa’s airplane getting ready to take off on an adventure and wonder if that’s where my love for flight started. I remember the joy my mom felt flying solo for the first time as I sat with my grandparents and watched from the ground. I knew that would be me someday. When my elementary school class project was to design a city, I signed up to be in charge of the airport and meticulously created the terminal and runway, and of course cut out a picture of myself to put in the pilot’s seat. While I was in high school I took advantage of the opportunity to attend the Idaho Science and Aerospace Scholars summer program and I was chosen to be one of the students who got to visit the NASA jet propulsion laboratory in California. Along with a rigorous high school academic path, I also tutored middle school math and enjoyed engaging with the kids who needed a little encouragement to work toward their goals. I even took some of my senior pictures at our local Warhawk Air Museum because I love the planes, marvels of historic engineering and personal stories of the people who were involved in the evolution of flight. I am currently going to school at UCLA to be an aerospace engineer, where I can combine my love for everything that involves getting mankind in the sky with my passion for design and mathematics. I aspire to work for a company such as Boeing or NASA to be part of the continuing evolution of flight, and although my initial professional position won’t likely be in a cockpit, I have no intention of staying grounded. I aim to get a private pilot’s license as soon as possible and have plans to include continued training in flight alongside my college educational pursuits. It would mean a great deal to me to be selected for a scholarship designed to honor Kyle, reading about his passion for aviation and accomplishments is inspiring. I think back to those first pictures of me in that small plane, with a folded towel to keep the too-big headset in place, and imagine I’m sitting in the pilot’s seat, and it’s my grandchild in the passenger seat getting ready to experience this big world from the big blue sky for the first time.

The world is a big place when you’re three years old, it’s much easier to see it all looking down from the passenger side window of a Cessna 172. I often look at the photos of me in my grandpa’s airplane getting ready to take off on an adventure and wonder if that’s where my love for flight started. I remember the joy my mom felt flying solo for the first time as I sat with my grandparents and watched from the ground. I knew that would be me someday. When my elementary school class project was to design a city, I signed up to be in charge of the airport and meticulously created the terminal and runway, and of course cut out a picture of myself to put in the pilot’s seat. While I was in high school I took advantage of the opportunity to attend the Idaho Science and Aerospace Scholars summer program and I was chosen to be one of the students who got to visit the NASA jet propulsion laboratory in California. Along with a rigorous high school academic path, I also tutored middle school math and enjoyed engaging with the kids who needed a little encouragement to work toward their goals. I even took some of my senior pictures at our local Warhawk Air Museum because I love the planes, marvels of historic engineering and personal stories of the people who were involved in the evolution of flight. I am currently going to school at UCLA to be an aerospace engineer, where I can combine my love for everything that involves getting mankind in the sky with my passion for design and mathematics. I aspire to work for a company such as Boeing or NASA to be part of the continuing evolution of flight, and although my initial professional position won’t likely be in a cockpit, I have no intention of staying grounded. I aim to get a private pilot’s license as soon as possible and have plans to include continued training in flight alongside my college educational pursuits. It would mean so much to me to be selected for a scholarship designed to honor Mr. Lipovits, whom I aspire to mirror with a lifelong passion for aviation. I think back to those first pictures of me in that small plane, with a folded towel to keep the too-big headset in place and imagine I’m sitting in the pilot’s seat, and it’s my grandchild getting ready to experience this big world from a bird’s eye view for the first time.