Leander High School Senior Earns Pilot License

LEANDER, TEXAS — Leander High School senior Rebekah Hui is flying high, both literally and figuratively.

School officials said the student recently earned her pilot's license in her role as an Air Force ROTC cadet — one of just 120 of her peers securing the license worldwide. The certificate was secured after many hours of practice over the course of two months starting this summer in Florida as she learned to fly low-performance aircraft.

“My instructor thought that I should apply for the program,” Hui said in an interview with school officials. “After he told me about it, I started doing research. I really didn’t think that it was a possibility at all.”

But before soaring through the skies, Hui had to demonstrate academic heights as well.

“I had to study for a test that consisted of math, graphing and aviation,” she told school officials. To be honest, it was really confusing and I no idea what I was studying.”

Hui said she was surprised at being accepted into the program given that she had originally on a wait list, according to a school website. More than 750 cadets from around the world applied for the program, but only 120 were selected for the academy by way of a $20,000 scholarship, school officials noted.

Hui followed a rigorous schedule at the academy, her day beginning at 4 a.m. Flying lessons began promptly at 6 a.m., followed by ground training when cadets learned everything from the mechanics of their planes to weather.

"I definitely learned a lot about myself and my studying habits and skills,” she told school officials. "I also learned the importance of understanding something rather than learning for the test. I couldn’t just cram study things and understand it while I was in the plane. At that point, it was a matter of if you can fly the plane and actually know what’s really happening.”

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>>> Photo via Leander ISD