My mom is an active-duty Master Chief. My grandfather, my uncle, and my dad all retired as Senior Chiefs. To say the Navy is in my blood is an understatement. I want to carry on that tradition, just on a different path: commissioning as an officer instead of enlisting.
I went to kindergarten at Blue Angels Elementary in Pensacola, Florida. When I met the Blue Angels at an air show, I came home and decided I was going to fly those jets. I remember doing sit-ups in my closet, training the way I figured a real fighter pilot would. Unlike most childhood dreams, that one never went away.
Around sixth grade I got hooked on physics and started reading way above my level. I'd sit on a blue fabric sofa in the library after school, working through books until my mom picked me up, still in her work clothes. In seventh grade my science teacher, Mr. Z, noticed and started teaching me real Newtonian mechanics. That made all the difference.
Growing up overseas
My mom grew up as a Navy brat in Japan, Nigeria, and Zambia, and she passed her love of exploring on to me. My grandfather's Navy hat said it best: "Navy. It's not just a job, it's an adventure!"
From fourth to seventh grade we lived in Naples, Italy. We drove all over Italy, Spain, France, Malta, and the UK in our little Peugeot, Betsy, visiting places like Pompeii and Herculaneum, and sometimes just picking a random hidden waterfall and going. Those trips made history feel real.
Later we moved to Yokosuka, Japan, where I went to Nile C. Kinnick High School. I hiked the Northern Alps in winter, warmed up in a gas station talking with locals, and jumped off cliffs into a freezing river with a group of Japanese soccer players. My Japanese is mostly pidgin phrases and a couple of jokes, but I never let the fear of sounding dumb stop me from trying. That's what I took from my grandfather's hat: permission to show up, mess up, and keep going.
Building a community
Japan wasn't all adventure. I started high school there as a sophomore after doing eighth and ninth grade online, and I figured I'd adjust fast. Instead, I spent most of that first year eating lunch alone. When my mom deployed, our apartment got very quiet. Eventually I realized I wasn't alone because people were leaving me out. I was alone because I was too afraid to reach out.
Junior year I decided to change that. Reintroducing myself was awkward; more than once, classmates asked if I was new. Things finally clicked in AP Physics, a small class with a new teacher, where I let myself talk and join in. My table partners became my first real friends, and by senior year we made the 2026 yearbook as the "Taco Bell Crew."
That's a big part of why I started the Aerospace Engineering Club. Our school's Junior Science program, which funded student projects, was canceled early in the year because of the government shutdown. Instead of accepting that, I asked my physics teacher, Mrs. Tang, and engineers at the Ship Repair Facility for help. Within a few months the club grew from two members to twenty. We built a hybrid rocket engine, toured SRF, and did outreach at a local elementary school. I wanted new students from all over the world to have people who get it, so nobody had to figure things out alone the way I did.
Home in North Carolina
I've lived all over, but North Carolina is home. Whenever my mom deploys or has unaccompanied orders, I live with my grandparents in Jacksonville. For most of my life they took care of me. At the end of my junior year, when my mom deployed, my grandfather flew all the way to Japan to look after me, and that spring I ended up being the one taking care of him. That's when I realized it was my turn.
Now I live with them, help around the house and yard, and look after their chickens. I finished high school in three years with 21 college credits from AP classes, and I'm taking 20 credit hours at Craven Community College and NC State's satellite campus in Havelock. Staying close lets me be there for my grandparents while I get started on engineering.
What's next
I plan to transfer to NC State, start a minor in naval science, and join NROTC. NC State's aviation club helps students prep for the ASTB, the test for naval aviation, and the unit trains alongside UNC Chapel Hill and Duke. Raleigh is also close enough that I can drive home on weekends to help my grandparents.
My goal is to commission as a Naval Aviator. I want to fly aircraft and also understand them well enough to help design the next ones, which is why I chose aerospace engineering. I keep myself ready for it too: after a knee dislocation kept me out of sports for most of high school, I kept training anyway. Now I lift four days a week and swim about four hours a week.
The Navy has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Becoming a Naval Officer is my chance to make that legacy my own.