Lines of smoke fill the air as Joshua “Josh” Broweleit (12) flies across the sky in his Cessna plane. Josh has been completing tests and other requirements to obtain his pilot’s license. He flies mainly small Cessna planes, a single engine monoplane.

“It’s kinda just been a way for me to relax. School is obviously really stressful and busy,” Josh said. “Being able to get into the planes on Fridays and Saturdays and kind of just fly wherever and see the sunsets from the plane is really relaxing for me.”

Josh is part of the Stanford Flying Club, where he takes lessons to improve his flying ability.

“Over this last summer I finally got serious about it and completed most of the flying hours,” Josh said. “One of my friend’s dad is a pilot, he reaffirmed that it was a real option to get into it and that it would be worth it to finish it and get the license.”

At around six years old, Josh took a tour flight around Washington state with his family. Loving the experience, Josh has been interested in flying ever since. When he was 15, he searched online and found out that he could take flying lessons at any age and signed up. He is currently working to obtain his Pilot’s License.

In a text interview, Josh’s flying instructor, Diem Nguyen, spoke about Josh’s ability to grow and adapt when learning how to fly.

“Josh stood out to me as a student who was able to communicate well in the cockpit and outside,” Nguyen said. “Being able to take in new information, interpreting them and making them his own is one of his best aspects in his training from my view point.”

At school, Josh’s disregard for what people think about him has allowed him to do what he wants and not feel pressured by society. Josh’s friend Jacob Kim (12) comments on Josh’s personality at school.

“To a lot of people he seems like he’s just this weird guy because he doesn’t really care about what other people think of him so he does whatever he wants, but when it comes down to it, and you really become friends with him like I have, he’s a super loyal guy, super trustworthy guy,” Jacob said. “I can put my trust in him, I can get advice from him.”

Josh’s disregard for what people think about him has allowed for him to wear sweatpants and leggings to school and not be dress coded, which many people, including his friends, have noticed.

“He doesn’t care what other people think, doesn’t really care about the consequences; and I think that’s a pretty respectable thing,” Jacob said. “I think that no matter who he’s talking to he can bring humor to the situation, he’s really easy to get along with, and everyone really enjoys having conversations with him.”

Though Josh is not affected by what other people think, he also tries to talk to as many people as he can and hear as many voices as possible, allowing him to get multiple points of view and many friends and acquaintances, like through orchestra.

“I was new in ninth grade, so I didn’t really have a lot of friends when I came here. He was one of the first people I met. He really made me feel included. We had a lot of orchestra trips, where we’ve gone to Sonoma or Chicago and New York, and it’s been lots of fun. I really got to see his personality,” Stephanie said.

Josh plans to finish obtaining his license and continue flying planes for his own personal enjoyment.