Fernando C. Camporreale Rivera

I grew up in Puerto Rico, mostly with my mother, who's a teacher, and weekends with my father, who's in law and finance. Two fairly different worlds, and I think I took something from each; her patience, his structure. Aviation came to me through family, and at eighteen I left the island by myself for North Dakota. That's about the biggest change you can make in a single move; the weather, the distance, being far from everyone I knew. It was hard, and finishing it is probably what I'm proudest of, so far. I worked my way through school while flying full-time, and I've been instructing in Fort Lauderdale since. Teaching turned out to suit me, which I suspect is my mother showing up in me. I'm quiet until I know people, and then I'm not. Outside of work I lift, I follow sports, I'm with family and friends whenever I can be, and when I've had enough of the outdoors I'm on a headset playing video games with friends back home. What drives me is pretty simple — building something stable, and making the people who got me here feel like it was worth it. This next step is part of that.