Aspiration to Aviate
Donation protected
My name is Daniel Harrison. I am a 20-year-old Jamaican student in the United States with dreams and aspirations of becoming an Airline Transport Pilot.
Since the tender age of 5, my passion for aviation has been like a flame that cannot be extinguished. My first ever visit to an airport was on a first-grade trip in May of 2006 and ever since that day, I have made it my life's goal to become a pilot and I will not rest until that goal is accomplished.
While in grade 9 at Munro College, I was blessed with the opportunity to be in the hearing field of someone talking about Caribbean Aviation Training Center, a flight school based in Kingston, Jamaica. It piqued my interest as I heard about their summer mentor program and I knew that finally I would take the first step to achieve my dream. I enrolled in the program the following summer and at the end, the mentees were given the chance to do a discovery flight with the instructors. Needless to say, this flight elevated my passion even further. I was also the top boy at the end of the program with a 94% average, and was granted a full scholarship to complete the ground school (theory) at the institution. I completed the theory in the following summer of 2016 and subsequently went back to focus on my CSEC exams as I was in my final year of high school.
After high school, the initial plan was for me to complete my aviation training then pursue a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. However, Caribbean Aviation Training Center had a fiery plane crash a few months after I left. The effects of this fatality had been dire, killing all three persons on board including the instructor that accompanied me on my discovery flight, therefore, my family and I ultimately decided that it was in our best interest that I shouldn't attend there anymore. The plans resultantly had to be reversed and my family and I decided that I should pursue my degree in the United States then focus on my aviation training as the US provides much greater opportunities with respect to my passion.
After 18 months of my family and I amassing the funds to take me back on track, including embassy fees, travel fees and tuition, I resumed my educational journey in January 2019 at the Community College of Baltimore County pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I recently finished my third semester and I am actively involved both academically and extracurricularly. I am a student government executive member and my 4.0 GPA secured my membership in the Honors Program at the school as well as the international Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society.
As an international student, however, the tuition as well as the exchange rate between the Jamaican dollar and the US dollar is unbearable for my family. My contributions are limited because the student visa has restrictions as to where I can work and how much I am allowed to make. I have applied for every possible scholarship but currently, the award rate for me seems to be no more than one per semester. And now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, all income have made a dramatic decrease. It is not my wish to see my family under unmanageable pressure because of a dream I want to pursue therefore I am exhausting all my resources to help as much as I can.
I have now turned to the online community to ask for your support in any way possible. This support, no matter how big or small, will see to the achievement of my dream as it will go directly towards my tuition and it will see to my future enrollment in a flight institution.
We are living in unprecedented times and the future is unpredictable as we don't know which way we're heading or what might happen next. Nonetheless, I'd like to imagine a future where my goals are still attainable and within closer reach because of the actions I am taking now.
Donation or not, I am eternally grateful that you’ve taken the time to read my story and I ask that you share this with whoever is willing to receive it so they may donate if possible. The world is one large community and as such, we must strive to help our neighbors out of their adverse situations in any way possible to see to it that each other's goals are accomplished.
As the words of Leonardo da Vinci says, “When once you have tasted flight, you will continue to walk this earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
Thank you.
Since the tender age of 5, my passion for aviation has been like a flame that cannot be extinguished. My first ever visit to an airport was on a first-grade trip in May of 2006 and ever since that day, I have made it my life's goal to become a pilot and I will not rest until that goal is accomplished.
While in grade 9 at Munro College, I was blessed with the opportunity to be in the hearing field of someone talking about Caribbean Aviation Training Center, a flight school based in Kingston, Jamaica. It piqued my interest as I heard about their summer mentor program and I knew that finally I would take the first step to achieve my dream. I enrolled in the program the following summer and at the end, the mentees were given the chance to do a discovery flight with the instructors. Needless to say, this flight elevated my passion even further. I was also the top boy at the end of the program with a 94% average, and was granted a full scholarship to complete the ground school (theory) at the institution. I completed the theory in the following summer of 2016 and subsequently went back to focus on my CSEC exams as I was in my final year of high school.
After high school, the initial plan was for me to complete my aviation training then pursue a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. However, Caribbean Aviation Training Center had a fiery plane crash a few months after I left. The effects of this fatality had been dire, killing all three persons on board including the instructor that accompanied me on my discovery flight, therefore, my family and I ultimately decided that it was in our best interest that I shouldn't attend there anymore. The plans resultantly had to be reversed and my family and I decided that I should pursue my degree in the United States then focus on my aviation training as the US provides much greater opportunities with respect to my passion.
After 18 months of my family and I amassing the funds to take me back on track, including embassy fees, travel fees and tuition, I resumed my educational journey in January 2019 at the Community College of Baltimore County pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I recently finished my third semester and I am actively involved both academically and extracurricularly. I am a student government executive member and my 4.0 GPA secured my membership in the Honors Program at the school as well as the international Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society.
As an international student, however, the tuition as well as the exchange rate between the Jamaican dollar and the US dollar is unbearable for my family. My contributions are limited because the student visa has restrictions as to where I can work and how much I am allowed to make. I have applied for every possible scholarship but currently, the award rate for me seems to be no more than one per semester. And now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, all income have made a dramatic decrease. It is not my wish to see my family under unmanageable pressure because of a dream I want to pursue therefore I am exhausting all my resources to help as much as I can.
I have now turned to the online community to ask for your support in any way possible. This support, no matter how big or small, will see to the achievement of my dream as it will go directly towards my tuition and it will see to my future enrollment in a flight institution.
We are living in unprecedented times and the future is unpredictable as we don't know which way we're heading or what might happen next. Nonetheless, I'd like to imagine a future where my goals are still attainable and within closer reach because of the actions I am taking now.
Donation or not, I am eternally grateful that you’ve taken the time to read my story and I ask that you share this with whoever is willing to receive it so they may donate if possible. The world is one large community and as such, we must strive to help our neighbors out of their adverse situations in any way possible to see to it that each other's goals are accomplished.
As the words of Leonardo da Vinci says, “When once you have tasted flight, you will continue to walk this earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
Thank you.
Organizer
Daniel Harrison
Organizer
Baltimore, MD