No longer flying solo

Freshman Olivia Fuller wins scholarship and allows God to guide her future

Things tend to look different from 3,000 feet in the air, according to Olivia Fuller.

The freshman from Hagerstown, Maryland, has loved planes ever since she was a young girl, and enjoys helping her grandfather — a retired Air Force serviceman — build airplanes.

“I am so blessed to have the opportunity to put together airplanes with my granddad,” Fuller said. “I feel that for pilots, it’s just as important to know how your aircraft works and what it’s made up of, rather than just simply knowing how to fly it.”

At age 13, Fuller experienced her first airshow, “Thunder Over the Blue Ridge,” in Martinsburg, West Virginia, where she saw an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet for the first time.

She was hooked.

Two years later, as a sophomore in high school, Fuller began the process of researching colleges, knowing that she wanted to
study aviation.

One of those colleges was Liberty University.

So, she decided to attend a College for a Weekend event. And another. And another.

Although she liked what she saw, she was still unsure of God’s will for her life.

“At first, I felt like God kind of abandoned me, because he wasn’t showing me where to go, and I had a really hard time with that,” Fuller said. “I had breakdowns at home because I didn’t know what to do.”

Fuller said her heart was at Liberty, but she needed a push, a confirmation that Liberty was where God wanted her.

This summer, Fuller attended EAA AirVenture Oshkosh — the largest fly-in and airshow in the world — in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with her father.

“For one week each summer, EAA members and aviation enthusiasts totaling more than 500,000 from more than 60 countries attend EAA AirVenture at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where they rekindle friendships and celebrate the past, present and future in the world of flight,” the EAA website states.

After driving the 13 hours from Maryland to Wisconsin, Fuller and her father camped for a week, enjoying all that AirVenture had to offer, including College Park, a space dedicated to showcasing aviation schools from across the United States.

Liberty was among them.

Fuller visited Liberty’s tent a few times, connecting with representatives from the aviation program.

She also entered a drawing for a $16,500 scholarship.

On their way back from Wisconsin, Fuller and her father stopped to visit the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

It was then God decided to speak to her — through a text message.

As she walked among the exhibits, Fuller looked at her phone.

She had won the scholarship.

“I was speechless. All my questions were answered about my future,” Fuller said. “When I got that scholarship, I was like, ‘God cares and he has taken care of my life and is guiding it where he wants it to go.’”

Flying, in a sense, is a spiritual experience for Fuller — something that helps her better understand God and his creation.

“There are so many ways to perceive God’s beautiful creation and, to me, flying in an airplane 3,000 feet above it all is one of the best ways to do so,” Fuller said.

Fuller hopes that one day, as a pilot, she can influence other pilots and military personnel for Christ.

“People are missionaries in whatever field they go into,” Fuller said. “I just want to bring my faith to the military part of the world and try to minister to people there.”

Fuller’s dreams have taken flight, and she trusts that God will guide her future.

“When you’re up in the air, it’s like what you see ahead of you is a whole different perspective of the world you thought you knew,” Fuller said. “In the cockpit, at the controls, streaming through the endless sea of clouds, is my favorite place to be.”

GRAF is a feature reporter