Most 7-year-olds are playing with toys, coloring or still learning to ride a bike. When Carlos Olivares was seven, he was in the sky, flying in a plane.
Olivares is the grandson of Stephen Damer, a fighter pilot of six years and a previous American Airlines pilot for about 30 years. As Olivares was growing up, Damer would take him and his siblings flying, looking to instill this same love for aviation in the younger generation.
“I remember I’d have to sit on like three pillows just to be able to look out the window,” Olivares said. “And the handles to control the plane were way up toward the front, so I could barely reach.”
The plane was a Kitfox, a type of side-by-side aircraft known for its impressive safety record and the fun flying experience it offers. These two characteristics met their match in young Olivares.
Receiving the green light from his grandfather, he boldly approached the yoke.
“I pushed it to one side, and the plane went 90 degrees,” Olivares said. “And I was just having the time of my life going 90 degrees.”
While some parents might experience increased heart rate and shortness of breath just thinking about their kid in the cockpit, Olivares’ parents acknowledged Damer’s expertise and trusted that their son was in good hands. In the end, their trust paid off, resulting in an adventure that Olivares would never forget.
He remembers peering out the plane window, thousands of feet in the air, and noticing how small everything looked.
“The cars looked like little ants,” he said.
Olivares was simply amazed. As he and his grandfather spoke to each other through their headsets, he remembered feeling content in the moment, just living life in the sky.
This experience had an impact on young Olivares. In conjunction with getting to experience what it was like to be a pilot, he was also flooded with inspiring stories that his grandfather would tell him about being in the Air Force. To 7-year-old Olivares, flying planes, protecting people and being brave sounded like a dream.
Eleven years later, he still loves planes and even had plans to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and become a pilot. Olivares applied to Purdue University in hopes of being a student in their aviation program. But things did not turn out the way he anticipated.
Olivares is at Taylor University studying sports management. While Taylor is almost two hours east of Purdue, and while sports take place on land rather than in the air, he expresses nothing but gratitude regarding the way everything turned out. He remembered when he first visited Taylor’s campus, he and his parents simply knew this was where he was meant to go.
Olivares has made many friends at Taylor and said, had he gone to Purdue, he might have struggled in his relationship with Christ. He knows that everything played out as it needed to.
“I am so thankful I came here instead of Purdue,” Olivares said. “Taylor really just makes me feel so at home that it sometimes doesn’t even feel like school. I just feel so safe here.”
Instead of looking down at the world below him, he can look back on the life behind him and appreciate how God was working. Moving forward, he continues to hold the same mindset he learned from that experience with his grandfather: the importance of being fearless no matter what changes or surprises may occur.
“You’ve just got to be fearless,” Olivares said.“ Things can happen, but you just have to be fearless and enjoy it.”
