A 3-year-old boy who wished to be a pilot for a day recently had his dream become a reality.
Through a collaboration with the nonprofit, Make-A-Wish of Central and Northern Florida, the Embry-Riddle College of Aviation welcomed Kryzian Santos and his family to the Daytona Beach Campus to make his dream take flight.
The Santos family, from Kissimmee, Florida, arrived Tuesday morning at the Flight Line, where they were greeted by faculty, staff and flight students ready to cheer Kryzian on.
He started with a guided tour of the Flight Line, exploring the cockpits of a Cessna 172 and a Diamond DA42 before visiting the campus’ state-of-the-art Advanced Flight Simulation Center. In the XR lab, flight student Allison Booher sat with him while he donned virtual reality goggles and took hold of the controls. Kryzian finished the day with a special ice cream celebration and an award ceremony where he was recognized as an honorary pilot.
“Our heart is overflowing with gratitude! My son’s biggest dream of exploring aviation came true.”
Rowena Santos
“Our heart is overflowing with gratitude! My son’s biggest dream of exploring aviation came true, thanks to the incredible Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Northern Florida and the amazing Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University,” says Rowena Santos, Kryzian’s mom.
“It was our absolute joy to share the spirit of aviation with Kryzian Santos and his family,” says Keith Deaton, director of philanthropy for the college. “This day wasn’t just about planes and simulators — it was about joy, hope and showing a young dreamer that the sky really is not the limit.”