How I Want to Make a Difference by Kyah

How I Want to Make a Difference by Kyah - April 2024 Scholarship Essay

Unlike the “traditional airline route” taken by many pilots attending ERAU, I want to do something a little different. To experience something different, while at the same time making an impact on communities and others. I am interested in becoming a medevac pilot or donating my time and skills to life flight programs. Overall, I want opportunities that allow me to grow both in my professional as well as my personal life.

At these unique companies/operators, I would be working with smaller, tight knit crews and have more one-on-one customer/passenger interaction. As a medevac/life flight pilot, I would be doing something that can drastically change an outcome for a person and/or a family. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and while not remote, I have had two close family friends use these types of services. 

Our close friends who live in Eastern Washington used a medical flight to save their toddler daughter's life with an emergency medevac to a trauma center in Seattle. This flight, the crew, the pilots, and eventually doctors are the reason she is here today. A second family friend was vacationing in Hawaii and was gravely injured in the ocean. He was resuscitated on the beach and spent several weeks in the hospital there. He was medically too unstable to fly commercially a medical flight was chartered, with its pilot and crew donating their time to transport him home to WA. Examples like these are why I want to be a part of something bigger than just flying to make money. I want to make an impact on the community around me and the families of those who desperately need help.  Now being in school is my avenue to succeed in this industry that needs people like the pilots in these instances.

I never thought, growing up, flying was what I would do in my life. I wasn't raised to think only of careers in “high paying” professions. I was given the latitude to freely discover where my passions lay. Academically I have always excelled but I wouldn’t have pictured using my capabilities to fly. School and education have always been important to me. I worked for and received my associate in science (engineering) before I even graduated high school. Here at my college, it is no different. While this school is strenuous, and the courses are hard, I have been able to succeed here. I participate heavily in several clubs to have interactions as much as possible with others like me. I am active in the volunteer opportunities they provide as well, such as assisting in Girls in Aviation Day. This helps me see that what I’m doing now and in the future is worth the wait and to keep pushing. Additionally, I maintain a high GPA and fly multiple times a week working on my commercial license. Whether it’s school, volunteering, working, or attending an event I always feel I have something to do to help me reach my future goals.

I have been both frugal as well as creative when it comes to my higher education path, in the hopes that I can achieve my dreams while at the same time, not being loaded with debt upon graduation. While in High School, I took advantage of both College in the High School and the Running Start program in WA State. These allowed me to get my associates of science two-year degree for almost no tuition costs. Coming out of high school, I received a scholarship from The Alpha One Foundation, as a result of my mom having the foundation's rare genetic disorder. I also earned several smaller, local, community/merit scholarships and used them to help attend a community college flight program in Arizona which set me on the path to Embry Riddle. While at this community college, I worked two different jobs up. I know that even with the scholarships I receive currently and those I have been given in the past; it is hard to not think about coming out without years of debt. I put in immense effort to get to where I am today, I am so lucky to have help in affording the education I am getting. I knew to be where I am today, I would have to stay on track as well as keep costs as low as I could. Whether through the state of Washington funding my associates, working hard for scholarships and my parents doing everything they can to help both my brother and I through school, I know I am lucky.  

I want to be able to have a career where I don’t have the sole focus of repaying student loans and can instead look at helping others. Coming from a family that values service (teachers, military, nurses, firefighters, and police officers). It has never been “about the money” for me. I want to make a positive impact on my community while doing something I love, which is flying. After having watched pilots change the course of multiple people, I know lives I want to be a part of it. Looking forward keeps me going to want to be a part of helping others in drastic times. College is a means to get to the life I want.