Flying free: Pilot Parker soars to graduation from College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences

Taking to the skies of Utah State University’s Price Campus, Parker Rollins is graduating this spring from the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences with a dual major in professional piloting for fixed-wing and aviation management. His journey took a major change, with a campus transition and hours of training, but he is ready to move on to the next chapter. 

Following a religious mission in Portland, Rollins chose to be an Aggie after being accepted to USU, University of Utah and Brigham Young University. He started at the Logan campus in the spring of 2020 with a major in mechanical engineering. However, he realized engineering wasn’t his passion. 

“The first class in the mechanical engineering program is just an introduction to it,” Rollins said. “I just didn’t love it. I didn’t go home every day excited to do the homework or go to class excited. It was more like, ‘OK, I could do this.’ But I didn’t love it.”  

Rollins took a few aviation courses, but he said what changed his life and major was a discovery flight.  

“I did a lot of searching the next semester,” Rollins said. “Took a bunch of different courses, a couple of aviation ones, and then I’m like, ‘OK, I like this. Let’s go see if I like flying in a small airplane.’ So, I took that discovery flight. The second we took off, I knew that’s where I wanted to be. I fell in love with it from that point on. So that passion and love is there, where I don’t regret going to work.” 

Due to construction on the Logan runway, Rollins moved down to Price for piloting. He originally planned to transfer back to Logan, but he never did. 

“I actually moved down to Price because Logan’s main runway at the airport was getting refinished,” Rollins said. “They weren’t having any of the private pilot classes, which is the first step in getting your pilot’s certificate. So they’re like, ‘Price is an option,’ and so I’m like, ‘Well, I guess I want to go fly, so I’ll go down to Price,’ and then I’ve been in Price ever since then.” 

Rollins said he tried to move back to Logan three times, but something always stopped him. He said he was grateful because he wouldn’t have received all the opportunities he had or met his wife if he hadn’t moved. 

“I was willing and open to stay down here, and because I stayed down here, I was given more opportunities and more chances to flourish out here,” Rollins said. “I’m grateful that I stayed because it not only gave me a great career. I mean, I found my wife, got married, and so I’ve had so many opportunities being down here in Price that I wouldn’t have had in Logan. They might not be the most flashy opportunities because Price isn’t the biggest, but it’s exactly where I needed to be.” 

Rollins married someone who also loves aviation. His wife, Heather, is a drone enthusiast graduating with a degree in aviation management. He said they flew away from their wedding reception, which was held in an airport.  

Shawn Barstow, assistant professor of aviation, worked with Rollins and is his father-in-law.  

“She liked him right away, and he was just a dumb guy who didn’t, you know, realize it for about a year,” Rollins. “They take a while. But they got married, and now they’re happy.” 

Barstow said he loves a lot about Rollins, both as a pilot and as a son-in-law. 

“I liked him so much as a son-in-law because of his work and his work ethic,” Barstow said. “He’s very self-motivated. When he wants to do something, he just goes out and does it. He got his instructor rating early, so now his last semester of school, he’s actually an in-flight instructor, teaching others how to fly until he graduates. He’s the kind of employee who I could give them a task and I could walk away and know it will get done.” 

Barstow said he admires Rollins’ flexibility in addition with his reliability and dedication. 

“He’s able to adapt to any situation, whether it be talking to elementary kids or talking to high school kids, doing a presentation in front of a large group of adults or teaching class,” Barstow said. “The coolest part about knowing Parker is watching the growth because when he first started four years ago, he was just a punk little college kid. But now he’s a professional pilot, ready to leave the university and to go out and conquer the world.” 

Rollins said aviation is a good profession to get mentorship. He had several people offer to help him along the way, especially a family friend who got him started and continues to help him fill out applications for airlines. 

“One of the biggest things for me was one of my main mentors — his name is Rob Midgley,” Rollins said. “He was there every step of the way, helping me get into flight school, figure things out. He’s still helping me to this point because I’m getting to the point where I can apply to the airlines.” 

Rollins said the aviation program includes a lot of people who are willing to help other pilots get ahead. 

“I’ve been able to go to so many different events with USU, “ Rollins said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to work with the UAS program and the outreach for the Aviation Department. Through that, I’ve met a lot of incredible people. One thing I’ve found in aviation is everybody is always for each other. You’ll never find somebody who isn’t willing to give back and help the next generation or just share that love. Something that I want to take forward is, I want to always be there for the next pilots — the next people coming in.” 

According to Rollins, instructors are a big part of his life, and he appreciates all of the help they’ve given him. 

“I give a lot of credit to my instructors Ashley and Richard,” Rollins said. “They shared everything that they had — all the knowledge, all the expertise — and I still look up to them. Also, my current chief instructor Claudio. I look up to him for all of his expertise and for continuously learning. I’m fortunate enough to have had great instructors because none of it would have been possible without them.” 

Rollins said his instructors inspire him to be a better pilot and teacher. 

“I hope that I can be an instructor to my students the way that my instructors were to me,” Rollins said. “I want to be that example and someone they can come back to in a couple of years when they’re getting ready to start moving on and just have someone to help them because that’s where Richard, Ashley and Claudio have all been to me.” 

Claudio Acosta Presta, Rollins’ chief flight instructor, said Rollins was really fun to work with but also was very professional and passionate. He said he admired how Rollins would go the extra mile and his family-oriented mindset.  

Rollins said there are a few things to know about being an aviation major. 

“I mean, you got to love airplanes,” Rollins said. “We’re nerds about airplanes. We’re always talking about airplanes. My wife has to get me to stop talking about airplanes at times.” 

He also said aviation majors should be dedicated to flying and recognize just how important their job is when they’re in the air. 

“The biggest thing is that aviation isn’t easy either, and so you have to be dedicated to it,” Rollins said. “There’s so much information you have to know and remember and review as you go out and fly because aviation is high risk, high reward. We trust our airplanes a lot. You never know when something bad could happen. You’re training for those worst case scenarios, and they don’t happen that often. Aviation is one of the safest forms of travel ever because of the way the training is done.” 

Rollins said working hard is something future pilots should be able to do. 

“One thing I like saying is flight instructors can teach anybody to fly an airplane if given enough time,” Rollins said. “The hardest part is a student’s understanding of the ground knowledge that has to come with flying the airplane because you don’t just go fly an airplane. There’s so many rules, regulations, procedures that you have to know and understand so you can be a safe, competent pilot. It’s going to take effort, but it’s that effort that’s going to get you to the job that you want.” 

Rollins plans to graduate and work as a flight instructor at the Price airport until he gets the hours necessary to apply for airlines. 

“I have about seven students that I’m flying with and working my way through as I get to 1,000 hours — that’s when I’m eligible to go to the airlines,” Rollins said. “In the next month or so, I’ll be turning in applications to some of the regional airlines. I’ll be at an airline hopefully by the end of the year. It is my goal.” 

Rollins said he enjoyed his time as a USU student. 

“I’ve loved it here,” Rollins said. “I definitely recommend Price if you want to get fly and get flying fast and get it done. Utah State has been where I’ve needed to be, and it can be the place for a lot of other people.”