What inspired you to become a pilot?
I was inspired to become a pilot by my family, but more specifically my cousins. I come from a family of aviators, three generations deep, but it was my generation who made me realize this is a doable and exciting career if I just opened my mind to it. Being scared of heights and always getting motion sick were some hurdles that I had to get over and my family was incredibly supportive while I took endless intro flights to make sure I could handle it. I owe a lot to my family for inspiring me to find my passion for aviation.
How long have you been a pilot and with what airline/company?
I’ve been a pilot since January 2019. I began my training at that time with ATP Flight School at their Ogden, UT location. I completed seven check rides over a span of nine months and then started instructing with ATP Flight School in October 2019 at their Mesa, AZ location as a CFI, CFII and MEI. I’m building my hours in hopes of working for a regional airline one day.
What has been your favorite travel memory while being a pilot?
I’ve been traveling my whole life but only recently been traveling as my own pilot. I’ve loved flying into airports and experiencing new Fixed Based Operators as well as meeting new people along the way.
Another fond memory was during the time building portion of our training. In preparation for the commercial license we get sent on a crew with other students in the program. I was lucky enough to get to explore up and down the coast of California in a 172! We went to numerous locations but one of my favorites was Carlsbad. On departure they have you overfly the Pacific Ocean for a while before turning back towards the coast. This was an incredible moment for me because I had done a few intro flights on the east coast near Boston and got to overfly the Atlantic Ocean during them. To have flown over each coast as the pilot are some flights I will never forget. Each new airport and destination in the logbook is another story saved for the memory books.
Where are you looking forward to traveling once it’s safe to do so?
I would love to go somewhere new! I think it’d be amazing to visit parts of Thailand or Bali and then maybe even go south to Australia. I have never been to that side of the world and I’m eager to explore it whenever the opportunity presents itself to do so.