Along the way, chasing this dream has taken me to some wild places. I have stood in isolation on top of a Hawaiian volcano. I have spent 24 hours underwater as a scuba diver. Night diving in pitch-black water is terrifying and incredible. I have trained in emergency dunk tanks, flipped upside down, blindfolded, escaping underwater. Yes, like the stuff Tom Cruise trained for in“ Top Gun Maverick.”
I also became a pilot. Flying a Cessna 172 still feels unreal. While my school days were filled with equations, lab reports, and deadlines, flying gave me freedom. At thousands of feet in the air, I don’ t see borders or labels. I just see Earth.
SPRING 2026— ISSUE NO. 14 | 11