A 2023 graduate of West Geauga High School is cruising down the runway toward a career in aviation, all stemming from a visit to the Geauga County Airport in Middlefield, said Outreach Coordinator Patty Fulop.
A 2023 graduate of West Geauga High School is cruising down the runway toward a career in aviation, all stemming from a visit to the Geauga County Airport in Middlefield, said Outreach Coordinator Patty Fulop.
During her senior year, Bella Pollack, of Parkman Township, had an opportunity for an internship with airport Manager Ric Blamer.
Pollack said her father, Paul, introduced her to Blamer when she was a junior at West Geauga High School.
They had driven by the airport many times and when she expressed an interest in flying, her father took her for a visit.
“We walked in on a meeting one day and they were very welcoming,” she said. “Ric showed me around and took me up for a flight. I thought it would be pretty cool, but I didn’t realize how much I would actually enjoy it.”
Blamer took her under his wing and offered her an internship at the airport, giving her a solid background in the world of aviation.
“During her internship, she helped with a variety of maintenance tasks, attended FAA (seminars), board and other meetings and was able to experience the joy of flight firsthand,” said Blamer, a certified flight instructor.
“That experience is truly what sparked my passion for aviation,” Pollack told Fulop. “If it weren’t for the time I spent at the airport, I don’t think I would be on the path I’m on today.”
She spent three hours per day, five days per week at the airport as a pilot-in-training, attending lectures and, when lucky, flying with flight instructors Stephen Millsap and Claudia Cozan, Pollack said during a recent phone interview.
“All our flight classes were at the airport,” she said. “There was no flying if we had lousy weather. Then, we’d have ground lessons … about aircraft, maneuvering an airplane and how it works.”
Pollack is going into her junior year on campus at Kent State University this fall. While taking classes at KSU, she had to make room for three hours per day at the airport.
“All the studying surprised me. To get your pilot’s license takes a lot of commitment,” she said, adding a lot of people at the airport supported her during those busy days.
Pollack earned her private pilot rating on July 2 and is working toward additional ratings at KSU while completing her bachelor’s degree in aeronautics, Fulop said.
“My next goal is to obtain my instrument rating, followed by my commercial, CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) and multi-engine ratings,” Pollack said. “Ultimately, my dream is to become a professional airline pilot.”
Pollack said she needs 1,000 flying hours to qualify as a pilot with an airline, adding KSU has a pathway program to help prepare students for that career.
Fulop is enthusiastic about Pollack and other young people who love flying.
“We see great things happening at the airport for the youth of Geauga County,” she said.
