PHOENIX — Hard work and determination have paid off for one Valley high school student reaching for the sky.
While some high school students spent the summer doing odd jobs or hanging out with friends, Ryan Tran was on a mission to get his private pilot's license.
Tran, a student at University High School in Tolleson, just completed the U.S. Navy's prestigious Summer Flight Academy program.
“I was like oh my gosh, like, I’m doing it,” Tran said. “I’ve never thought I could do it, but here I am with my pilot’s certificate, so now I’ve just gotta keep pursuing aviation if I can.”
With his completion of the program, Tran received his FAA private pilot license and five college credits.
“It was nonstop studying,” said Tran. “We kept quizzing each other, we kept asking each other questions, a lot of circle time with the group.”
“Ryan Tran is an impressive young man,” said CDR Chandra Newman, the Navy’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Commander, Naval Air Forces.
He was one of 28 high school juniors and seniors from across the country taking part in the intensive 8-week program at Delaware State University this year.
“We look at academics,” said Newman. “We look at physical readiness and they take the same aviation aptitude test that I had to, to become a naval aviator.”
The Navy partners with select universities throughout the country to provide elite flight training to the participating students who were selected out of hundreds of applicants for the competitive program.
“We want to see well-rounded, thoughtful leaders to be the next generation of us in naval aviation,” Newman said.
The program costs about $26,000 per student, but in this case, it was offered at no cost to the student with no obligations.
“It really is phenomenal,” said Newman.
Tran plans to study at USC on a full-ride Navy scholarship this fall.
“I’m excited to see what ROTC at the college level is like and what USC is like,” said Tran.
Tran is proof that anything is possible when you reach for the stars.
“Just do it,” he said. “Take every opportunity you’re presented with, and let them tell you no.”
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