Hello everyone! Time has flown since I first received the scholarship, and so much has happened since then. Let me reintroduce myself here and share some updates!
I’m Thomas Ye, a senior at Langley High School. I have been playing the violin since I was six and perform in my high school’s Philharmonic Orchestra. At the same time, I keep myself busy with the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force, where I have recently been focusing on drones.
After earning the Flying Musicians Association Solo Scholarship in 2024, I have been busy with the ground school study offered by Sporty’s. I have completed 80% of my ground school studies, and now with college applications out of the way, I plan to take the FAA test before spring break and start my flight training with Aeri Elite Flight Training at the Leesburg VA airport.
I continued pursuing my aviation passion in 2024 and 2025: in June, I attended the CAP National Emergency Services Academy in Indiana and earned my sUAS(drone) technician qualification; in July, I led a joint team of Boy Scouts and CAP cadets and competed at the AMA UAS4STEM(drone engineering) international competition and achieved the national second place award at 2024 EAA Airventure; I also met with Mr. Zapp, the president of the Flying Musicians Association, at the EAA AirVenture show at Oshkosh, WI.
November marked a big milestone as I passed my FAA Remote Pilot Part 107 test and earned the commercial qualification to fly drones in the US. I continued this momentum in December — after interviewing with the office of Congressman Gerry Connolly, I received his nomination to the US Air Force Academy. I also attended the 2024 winter CAP Lone Star(Texas) South Emergency Services Academy and logged more flight hours for my CAP sUAS(drone) mission pilot qualification; on January 29th, 2025, I represented CAP cadets to visit the Virginia State House again to advocate the CAP core missions to Virginia lawmakers – aerospace education, emergency services, and cadet education.
I continued participating in my high school Philharmonic Orchestra and was honored with the National Tri-M Music Honor Society in 2024. Earlier this year, I was selected for the District Honor Orchestra for my violin performance, and last month, I performed in my local Chinese New Year celebration recital at Reston Community Center.
In 2025, I plan to finish my ground school and solo flight training before heading to college. I also plan to present a UAS4STEM(drone engineering) seminar at the 2025 March CAP Virginia Wing conference in Williamsburg, VA. I plan to compete again at the 2025 Falls Church Music Festival with my violin solo performance. With college applications and other commitments behind me, I’m super excited to start flying as soon as possible!