Since I was a child I always knew I wanted to do something that dealt with aviation. Growing up I immersed myself as much as a young kid could with airplanes, joining Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and taking photos of airplanes at local major airports to pass the time until I could eventually begin flight training. It was early in High School that I found out about Minnesota ACE Camp and what they offered every summer, being from Maryland it only seemed like a dream to attend this camp. In my senior year I revisited the camp website and found out about the scholarships they offered, finally this camp seemed to potentially be a reality and I applied. As an out of state student receiving a scholarship to this camp enabled me to save up from my high school part time job and buy a plane ticket to/from a place I had never been. While all the awesome activities planned for us all week were memorable, it was the genuine connections and relationships with fellow students/ mentors that have enabled me to succeed in pursuing my professional goals. Without meeting some life long friends from Minnesota I am not sure I would have been able to convince myself to become a first generation college graduate from the University of North Dakota. Being connected with ACE Camp to this day has taught me a big lesson in the world of aviation "It's not who you know, it's who knows you.", and how having a strong network of professionals can help you make big steps in whatever it is you pursue. There are several moments in my young aviation career that were under the guide and help of mentors made from ACE camp. It is a pleasure to have attended camp and continue to volunteer for it to this day, enabling all involved to maintain connections with devoted aviation professionals from all over the country/world.