Welcome to my April edition of Open Letters to Those That Matter. This month I will be writing my column to an organization that helped to decide the rest of my life: jetBlue. This airline has helped to forge my career field and outlook on the future of my life.

Dear jetBlue,

As a young child, I remember the excitement that comes with going on vacations. The difference between myself and most kids was when it came to the pre-vacation excitement, I wasn’t excited for the destination. I was excited for the flights.

Flying has always been a major passion of mine, and I credit the many vacations my family took to Florida for that. Flying is an incredible experience to think that a 66 ton chunk of metal can leap off of the earth and take you almost anywhere is mind-blowing. My interest stems from almost a single moment that happens on every flight when the plane tilts up, and shoots into the sky you can see the world get smaller and even toy-like. Moments like that were what fostered a growth of a young pilot.

My family almost always fly’s jetBlue, and to this day we go out of our way to fly with them. The experience flying with them is unparalleled from any other airline. On my most recent trip, just a few weeks ago, my mom and I were flying down to visit my college in Daytona Beach, FL when the best thing happened: turbulence. Turbulence to most people is a terrifying event, but for me, it’s just a controlled roller-coaster at 37,000 feet. To put this turbulence in perspective, it was like the plane was playing bumper cars with the clouds, and having flown a lot in my life, I can easily say it was the worst flight in terms of turbulence ever. The only reason I still consider it a good flight is the flight attendants and the pilots were incredible.

The jetBlue customer service was highly evident on this flight when the flight attendants went seat to seat checking in with every passenger. This group of flight attendants even sat with a family who wasn’t doing so well with the rocky flight. That brought me back to a memory of mine from a jetBlue flight many years ago. This moment was when I really knew I wanted to be a pilot; I was coming home on a flight from Florida into Boston, and there was a massive blizzard. The storm caused bad turbulence and many frightening moments throughout the cabin. Having visibly scared younger siblings, the flight attendant took the time to sit next to my family. This one flight attendant said one thing that ,honestly, set me on the path I am on today. She told us to not worry because they had the best pilots flying the plane, and that they would land us safely. The word ‘pilot’ was set in my head from the age of ten and hasn’t let go since.

Since that day, I have worked to become a pilot by learning all I can about the business. My search lead me to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Florida which I chose to go to because it is the best of the best in the industry and, it is a jetBlue pipeline school. Being a jetBlue pilot pipeline school means that after graduation, I have a very good chance to become a pilot for jetBlue in my future.

For all of those reasons and many more I can’t wait to be working for you in the future.

Thank you to the pilots and flight attendants of jetBlue,

Alex Keely

For my readers who read through my path to for my future, thank you. I hope this column gives you a chance to realize that outside help can make your future clearer and brighter. I urge you all to try and find a outside source that you never know could change your life for the better.