On Campus
READY FOR
TAKEOFF ZANDER HAMILTON ’23 first became interested in flying because of the incredibly technologically advanced machines. His interest was rewarded last year when Zander earned a slot as a cadet in the Red-Tailed Hawks Youth FLY Program (RTH). The RTH FLY Program is a two-week program introducing underrepresented youth to the world of aviation. RTH hosts the FLY program at Galvin Flying in Seattle, where cadets receive 10-12 flight hours and 40 hours of pilot ground school. Top performers are selected to continue past the solo flying level and earn private pilot certification. Zander said he invested a lot of time studying during the summer program as a large volume of content is loaded into the 14-days. “Not only did we have to learn it all, but we had to retain 12
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all that information and skill as well. I had to make sure that I understood what was being taught and could continue to apply it, whether in actual scenarios or for quizzes and a knowledge test,” Zander said. There were eight students in this year’s group of cadets and Zandar was honored to win the Top Gun Award, which provides additional support and funding for pilot training. Zander demonstrated his commitment to go above and beyond to complete the training with excellence to earn the award. “I love aviation, and I aspire to be a professional some years from now. I hope to join the U.S. Air Force Academy, become a pilot (preferably fighters) and receive additional training. Once I grow tired of that, maybe I’ll join an airline until I retire.”
