Planes soar above while Scott navigates the sky. Scott Soccio has been an active member of the Navy member for two years after graduating in 2017.
“Growing up I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to do something that would kind of challenge me, push me out of my comfort zone, and give back to the community in some sense. I also wanted to have a chance to lead but didn’t quite know how. I knew when I went to the Blue Angel Airshow in 8th grade that I wanted to be a pilot. It kind of lit the spark,’’ said Scott.
But joining wasn’t easy. Scott had an extreme allergy that kept holding him back. “I had a shellfish allergy. That wouldn’t typically be a big deal for any other jobs but that shellfish allergy kind of haunted me for five years. I would do everything right, I worked hard in school and they kept pulling that shellfish allergy to try to prevent me from joining. Im finally over that now but it just kept popping up. “
Being in the Navy undoubtedly has many challenges. According to Scott It is important to practice perseverance and time skills when being put in big positions.
“Id say the biggest challenge is always constantly trying to do the best you can and being on top of your game. In high school and college you can kind of get away with letting your health slip or not getting 8 hours of sleep but now I know that split-second decisions matter. The hardest challenge is time management and to make sure your getting that 8 hours of sleep while also making sure you’re as prepared as possible for the day, “ said Soccio.
Traveling the world is full of once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Scott got a chance to make many memories along the way in his career. “ I never went out of the country but i got to go to some cool places in the United States. Freshman year of college I went through Virginia Tech’s ROTC program. I spent three weeks in Norfolk Virginia seeing ships and meeting pilots. I also went to San Diego where I got to live on a submarine for two days and spent the other five days in San Diego as a 19 year old, surfing and going to all the restaurants,” said Scott.
Scott Soccio was a student at latrobe prior to his piloting endeavors. Mr. Saveikis shares memories of Scott from his time as a wildcat. “He was always a go getter. You could tell. I have most kids junior or senior year and he was always that way,” said Saveikis,”He was always so determined. Thats something he had throughout since I’d known him, he’s been goal driven his whole life.”
All school comes with its challenges, Pilot school was no exception to the rule. “Primary flight school was just a new type of learning. You’d study so the hardest part of primary is learning how to fly bigger faster planes in college and high school. I learned how to study and how to study effectively and I was a decent test taker,” said Scott.” But when you get to fly fast planes it’s not about what you know on paper but being able to pull out and making split-second decisions so primary is kind of a learning process to be able to learn the material so well that in a split second, i’m able to apply it to situations i’m in.”
Scott has done many amazing things in his career. He enjoys his job and always wants to help his community. “The most rewarding part of my job is actually working with the people. I get to fly a plane by myself which is such a fun experience but the most rewarding experience I’ve ever gotten to do was working with the rescue swimmers down in Pensacola Florida. I got to help get them in shape with workouts. These are all new guys, fresh 18 year olds and I helped them in getting them ready for the rigors of their school so it was actually working with and trying to help someone else with their goals,” said Scott.
Through his Career Scott has accomplished many amazing things. Traveled across the world, and has gotten to help everyone allong the way. He has left a lasting impact on many people all over the community and will continue to do so in his future.
