When I first started my flight journey, I was brainstorming with my parents about things I love to do. During this discussion, my mom and dad mentioned how much I always loved going to the airport. This led to the idea that I should look into becoming a commercial pilot and pursue an aviation career. After our conversation, my dad called one of his friends who flies, and we met him. He took me up for a flight in a 2019 Cessna 172, which was my first flight experience in a smaller plane. After that he told us to go look into High Flight Academy and get a discovery flight booked with them. We were actually able to get one booked the same day and I got to go up twice. Then, I began researching all the requirements I would need to achieve my goals.
I was still in high school when I learned about the Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) aviation program. This program allowed me to take college courses for my aviation degree during my last two years of high school. The following year, I started the program and began working on my private pilot license. Balancing high school, college classes, and a part-time job, I began my flight training for my private pilot certificate. This was not as easy a task as I had expected, and I encountered some struggles along the way in training for my aviation career, including switching flight schools and being injured, which prevented me from flying for six months.
While working towards my private certificate, I got a job working line service at Butler County Airport, where I still work and love being at the airport and around aviation every day. During that time, I also graduated from high school and attended one year at the CCBC to finish my associate degree. After that, I enrolled in a program with Southern Illinois University that holds its classes on the weekends at the Beaver County Airport. This fast-track program allowed me to earn my bachelor’s degree in aviation management in 16 months. I was making progress on my aviation career.
While at Southern Illinois University, I achieved my private pilot certificate at AirQuest Aviation. After that, I transferred to High Flight Academy. The transition was seamless, and I began my instrument flight training, which I completed quickly, in about six months. As of writing this, I have just finished up my last weekend of classes for my bachelor’s degree in Aviation Management. I am currently working on my commercial training and cannot wait to finish it. I plan to become a CFI, which I am very excited about because I love teaching and helping people learn new things. After building my hours, I hope to fly commercially or in the corporate world.
