Flight Training - January/February 2023 - 23

PEOPLE
BY LILLIAN GEIL
FAST TRACK TO SCHOLARSHIPS
TEEN STARTS HELPFUL WEBSITE FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO FLY
WHEN ANGELINA TSUBOI WAS STARTING HER FLIGHT TRAINING JOURNEY,
she spent a lot of time hunting for scholarships before coming across the
AOPA Foundation. Now she's designed a website so other aspiring pilots
can find financial help faster. " When I started pursuing aviation and flight
training, a lot of my time was spent trying to find scholarships when I
could've been spending that time focusing more on ground school or connecting
more with people in the aviation community, " Tsuboi said. " The
process of finding scholarships was pretty difficult because there wasn't a
clear or intuitive guide to find scholarships. "
So Tsuboi made it her mission to help other aspiring pilots by developing
a program that compiled scholarships for easy access and application.
Pilot Fast Track helps aspiring or current pilots find scholarships that fit
their needs. The program filters the available funds by certification, aircraft
preference, and location, as well as filtering and promoting scholarships that
uplift gender and ethnic groups that are underrepresented in the industry.
" Ultimately the mission for Pilot Fast Track is to reduce the financial
barrier to entry of flight training in order to support the next generation of
aviators. I just wanted to use the skills that I had already to make flight training
more accessible to people, " Tsuboi said. " It's meant to make the scholarship
search really intuitive and easy, as well as making it really customizable so you
can find the right scholarship that suits your aviation goals. "
Tsuboi was awarded an AOPA Foundation You Can Fly High School
Flight Training Scholarship in 2022, and while the eleventh grader is well
on her way to putting those funds to use pursuing a private pilot certificate
(having recently soloed a Sport Cruiser at Santa Monica Flyers in California),
she continues to uplift others in her community.
Tsuboi is a programmer, and not just a recreational one. Starting when
she was just 7 years old, she quickly developed a passion for the subject and
now knows 13 programming languages.
" Programming is really easy to learn
online if you have access to the right
resources, " said Tsuboi. " And it's one of
those skills that can have a huge impact on
other people. It can be a really benevolent
force for good. "
With several apps under her belt,
including an app for the Apple Watch that
teaches the basics of CPR and an app to
help immigrants access translation support,
it's clear that her skills are being used
" for good. " In fact, most of Tsuboi's projects
serve a selfless purpose, including
Pilot Fast Track, which she describes as " a
really cool intersection between two of my
passions, aviation and programming. "
Tsuboi has plans to launch the app version
in the coming months, for both iOS and
Android use.
The future is bright for Tsuboi, whose
career dreams bounce from mechatronics
engineer to astronaut and test pilot, and
who has no plans to slow down her programming
projects.
" I just have so many ideas in my head,
and too little time to implement those ideas. "
lillian.geil@aopa.org
pilotfasttrack.com
FLIGHT TRAINING JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023
23
http://www.pilotfasttrack.com
Flight Training - January/February 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - January/February 2023
