AVONDALE — At just 18 years old, Ryan Tran has done more than maybe some other students his age.
Going through JROTC at University High School in Tolleson helped give him experiences other teens may not get.
“It’s astonishing because at the age of 18, not many kids can say they have a pilot’s license… I can rent a plane, but I can’t rent a car. It’s just like that weird thing to have,” he told ABC15.
Tran can actually rent a car with certain companies in Arizona, but it’d be pretty pricey with insurance.
Regardless, the University High School graduate has done a lot in his lifetime already.
“I like driving. I like boating. So, why not go flying? I have conquered air, sea and land,” he said chuckling.
He received this experience through the Commander, Naval Air Forces (CNAF) Summer Flight Academy that’s aimed at exposing kids to a different career path.
“It’s a tough competition. So, we look for Navy and Marine Corps Junior ROTC students that have incredible academic profiles and civic profiles,” said Commander Chandra Newman with the U.S. Navy.
Only 28 students are selected from a pool of about 300 students who applied. Newman said they partner with three universities and help students learn all about aerospace in only eight weeks. Through the program, the students also learn how to fly.
To be selected, students also go through some of the same tests as Naval Aviators do, Newman said. She added that they also do physical readiness tests, too.
“I think it's easily, and described as one of the most rigorous academic challenges that our students [face], because we're talking juniors and seniors in high school, and this is collegiate level at a fast pace,” Newman said. “To give you an idea, most of like Delaware State, what these students do in eight weeks, 56 days is what a college freshman attempts to do in a semester.”
Tran said he was nervous for his first flight, which is about two weeks into the program, but afterward, he felt different.
“Accomplished. I can conquer the world now,” he recalled.
Thanks to the Navy, Tran will be heading to the University of Southern California on a scholarship. He will be majoring in biological science and tells ABC15 he eventually wants to be a flight surgeon in the Navy.
“If I continue working hard, I can get where I want to do and pave a road for other people, too,” he said.
