Flight
I love flying: the singular focus it demands, the way it forces you to be present in the moment. In the cockpit, the world below falls away, and I find a rare connection with myself.
“Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;”
The full poem hangs in my father's office, alongside an F-16 fighter jet photo from his military service days and models of the passenger jets he later flew for Delta. I grew up with symbols of aviation around me. I was blessed with circumstances that not only allowed me to travel but planted the seeds of what would become my own passion for flight.
Dad refueling in-flight
In the cockpit of an F-16
I think I always knew I wanted to fly at some point. But this didn’t turn into action until I came to a pivotal moment in my college years where I asked myself, “What do I want to do with my life? What career do I want to pursue?”
Instinctively, my response was flying.
My first discovery flight in 2019
Going on trips with dad, he’d always shout us out over the intercom!
Though ultimately flying as a career was not meant for me, in college I spent my first year in the Air Force ROTC program, and later planned on applying to Officer Training School to fly for the Air Force. I changed my major from Business Administration to Mechanical Engineering, immersing myself in courses like Aircraft Performance and Design and Dynamics of Spaceflight, and eventually leading to work on a NASA-sponsored glider project.
In the summer of 2020, amidst the global pandemic, I began the journey of getting my pilot’s license. What I thought was mostly a decision for my career turned into what has become, without doubt or reservation, what I now know to be a lifelong passion.
Day flight in the Archer
The cockpit of the Piper Warrior I trained in
June 18, 2020: My First Solo with instructor Adam Carter
Over the southern coast of CT
Prepping for a night cross country