My name is David “Buddy” Conner, and I was born in Murray, Utah. My sister and I were inseparable growing up. She was a year and a half older than me, and she would call me her “buddy.” After a while, I began to identify with the name Buddy, and it started to stick among our family and friends.

When I was 4 years old, we moved to Seattle, Washington, and we lived there for a short but sweet three years. Most of my cherished childhood memories come from that time. I enjoyed several hobbies, but my sister and I focused most of our time and attention on sports. Being so close in age and both of us competitive, we liked to play against and challenge each other. 

One day in 2015, when my sister was a sophomore and I was a freshman, she was driving home from lunch and was struck by another car. As a result of this accident, she passed away. My life was tragically impacted in a way that I had never experienced before. Before the accident, I was an enthusiastic, straight-A student. Suddenly, my priorities changed. My values had different meanings, and my focus was redirected. School seemed pointless. Luckily, my parents supported me each step of the way, which gave me the motivation to walk through the front door to school every day. 

Junior year came, and I felt great pressure to apply to different colleges. I thought about degrees like business, marketing and communications, and international business. While these are fantastic degrees, they weren't my passion. I was most interested in aviation and becoming a pilot, so I talked with an aeronautics professor at a local community college during an open house one night. He said that the wise choice was not to become a pilot since the industry was only hiring retired Air Force pilots. What’s more, as a pilot you must maintain perfect health — something that was not in my genetics. The small flame that I had for aviation was quickly extinguished that night.

After applying to several colleges for business programs and even being accepted with scholarships, I was not truly satisfied. I attended one semester of college online, and it was extremely difficult. It turns out I wasn’t a bad student, I was just holding on to the dream of pursuing aviation. Very close to the edge of burnout, Utah Valley University (UVU) came to my mind — a place I had visited once in high school and enjoyed. Something was special to me about UVU. Upon reflection, I realized that I had often lived under the wing of my sister, and it was easy to feel aimless without her. She was never afraid to pursue a dream or take a chance, and her enthusiasm was inspiring. I wanted to be more like her. So, I borrowed a page from her book and channeled some of her courage to enroll in the aviation management program at UVU. 

From the aviation classrooms at the Provo Airport, you can see the runway. On my first day walking into class through the parking lot, I saw a jet take off — and I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning. Suddenly the flame and passion I once had flared up again.

It's now been a year and a half since that day, and I still get excited every time I walk into the airport for class. There's something amazing about a nearby launching jet rumbling the walls of your classroom.

After my first class, I walked up to Professor Ryan Leick to ask for more information. I told him I was new and trying to figure out if aviation was for me. He was super kind and invited me back into his office. We chatted for about an hour and a half, and he informed me of different career avenues in the aviation industry. Over time, he arranged meetings for me to work and meet with different industry professionals to learn about different careers. The feeling I had after that initial meeting with Professor Leick was one of the best feelings I've ever felt. I was truly pursuing my passion and studying something I absolutely loved. Also, I felt welcomed, wanted, and valued. All the faculty I’ve since met at UVU are the same — they’re willing to go out of their way to help students.

After my first semester, I went to private flight school and got my private pilot's license, which was a dream come true. I also volunteered to take over the AAAE Club at UVU, a club designed to help students find careers in the airport industry. I renamed it the Aviation Management Club because I wanted it to cover all aspects of the aviation industry, not just airport careers. As a club, we tour different airports, hear from guest speakers in various careers, and attend conferences. I even found a way to secure free admission for our club to a corporate aviation conference in Vegas. Getting to work with other enthusiastic students in the club has been one of the most rewarding things that I've done during my time at UVU. 

After my undergrad, I’d like to pursue either an MBA in aviation or a master’s in aviation management and aerospace technology. At the time of my sister’s passing, several family members flew in on short notice for the funeral. You never know why someone needs to get somewhere quickly. A lot of people catching a flight could be en route to a vacation or business trip, but some people are going to say their final goodbyes to a loved one. I hope to use my career to help people in that situation. I could see myself becoming a professor too. Now that I know the impact that my professors have had on me, I want to give back to students with the same passion. 

People will always tell you what career they think you should or should not pursue. Just because someone has or has not written success in a certain career avenue doesn't mean that you can't write your own career success story. Throughout my studies at UVU, I’ve realized that if you doubt whether you should pursue a passion, you should take a chance and believe in yourself. When you pursue a passion, you will find a way to make it work. You are more powerful than you think.