My dad was a flight instructor when he was younger, and his love for airplanes has had a significant influence on me. As a kid I would pretend I was flying an airplane while swinging on a swing set, and as I grew older, I began to seriously think about going into aviation as a career. A large part of what caused me to start pursuing aviation as a career was my faith. I am a Christian, and when I was around twelve or so I began to feel God calling me to be a missionary aviator. Around this time of my life, I started getting more and more interested in planes and aviation, and my older brother bought me the Jeppesen Private Pilot Manual so I could start studying it. Since I was only around thirteen or fourteen years old, I didn't understand some of the topics very well, especially the aerodynamics, but I was eager to learn and kept on studying. Whenever I had a hard time learning a concept I would ask my dad about it, and he would help me understand it better. My dad told me about a few missionary aviation organizations he knew of, one of which was Jungle Aviation and Relay Service (JAARS). Since then, I have felt God call me to work with JAARS specifically and have been working to find good flight schools to get up to my Commercial Pilot's License. One of my sisters is interested in becoming a pilot also, and she went to Lake Superior College to do a discovery flight in one of their helicopters. I went along to watch, and I decided that I would like to attend Lake Superior College to get my flight training done. Last summer (July 2025) I went to Lake Superior College to do my own discovery flight, which was one of the best experiences of my life. The flight instructor gave me a brief tour of the flight area of the college including the hangar and their flight simulators, and then we did a pre-flight check and took off in a Cirrus SR20. After takeoff and a little cruising, the flight instructor let me try out the controls and we practiced a few turns, climbs, descents, and he had me follow a few headings as well. I am hoping to attend Lake Superior College's flight program this fall after I graduate high school, and I am looking forward to finally reaching my goal of learning to fly. Flight school can be very expensive however, so if I were awarded this scholarship, I would use it to help pay for some of the flight lab costs to help me reach my goal of finally becoming a missionary aviator.

My name is Sarah! I have been homeschooled and am a senior in high school this year. I am currently serving in multiple organizations, and I enjoy helping other people and seeing the lasting impact on their lives. I am active at my local church, I volunteer at a ranch, and I am a law enforcement explorer at my local police department’s law enforcement exploring post. The church I attend is called Triumphant Life Assembly of God. I attend this church regularly and help run the slides for services when needed. I love seeing the other church attendees each week and learning what God is doing in their lives. I also volunteer at a ranch called His Haven Ranch that helps teach the Bible to kids who have had a rough time growing up. At this ranch I help care for the horses, teach the kids how to do chores, and how to saddle a horse properly. The ranch usually does five week sessions with each week consisting of a Bible study time, a time to do barn chores for the horses, and a saddle and ride time with their assigned horse. I am usually assigned a few kids to work with, and I will go with them from station to station, helping them along the way. Another group I volunteer in is a law enforcement explorer post. Law enforcement explorers are trained by police officers in first aid and how to handle some of the situations police officers face on a regular basis. Explorers also help do security and direct traffic at public events. I am a sergeant in my post, and I am in charge of making sure everyone’s uniforms look professional. I plan to go to flight school and get my Commercial Pilot License, after which I hope to work with Jungle Aviation and Relay Service (JAARS). I am hoping to start attending Lake Superior College’s two year flight program that will get me to the point where I am a flight instructor, starting this fall after I graduate high school. JAARS works overseas in some of the most remote places to bring the gospel and needed supplies to people. I have felt called by God to pursue this career for several years and am excited to take some of the first steps in doing that. I am looking forward to getting my pilot’s license and helping serve others on the mission field as a missionary aviator.

My name is Sarah Longest, I live on a small hobby farm in the country, I am a Pentecostal Christian, and my parents were missionaries overseas. I am homeschooled by my parents, and I am in my senior year of high school. I currently serve in two different volunteer positions. I am a sergeant in a local Law Enforcement Explorer post, a group that helps the local police direct traffic at events, do security at the local fair, and learn life skills and training from police officers, such as first aid. As a sergeant, I am in charge of helping other explorers know what to do at events and making sure their uniforms look professional. I also help at a ranch that teaches kids how to care for a horse, do chores in a barn, saddle horses, and how to ride. This ranch does a Bible Study with the kids each week before they help with chores. The ranch I help at was started to help kids with hard lives or difficult mental health learn how to take on responsibility. I help walk horses, teach kids how to do chores, and teach them how to saddle their horse properly. It's hard work, but it is very rewarding. I have a goal to become a pilot in the future and eventually become a bush pilot. I want to fly missionaries and translators to remote villages, do supply runs, and take people that need medical attention to hospitals that they would not be able to get to except by plane. I hope to attend Lake Superior College's Professional Pilot program this fall to become a pilot. Any flight school is expensive, however. If I were awarded this scholarship, I would use it to help pay for some of the flight labs I am required to do to complete my degree.