This weeks Campus Celebrity is Brian Lynch. Brian has some awesome things going on in his life right now, so we caught up with him to chat about his aspirations, activities and family. Enjoy!
Her Campus (HC): What is your major?
Brian Lynch (BL): I’m a junior here at USD studying Business Administration. I also have a minor in Mathematics.
HC: Why did you choose USD?
BL: What made me really start to consider USD was when I received their financial aid offer and it beat most of the other schools that I had been accepted to. The nail in the coffin, though, was the campus tour—I loved it instantly and after one walk through the garden of the sea, I was decided.
HC: I hear your parents own a hot air balloon company! How did that get started?
BL: Well my parents used to have their own hot air balloon business, but they’ve diversified a bit since then. About 30 years ago my parents started Above All Balloon Charters. They operated heavily for about 15 years but when my older sister asked why other kids got to play softball on the weekend, they decided to free up their Saturdays and Sundays and sell the rights to the company. Since then, they’ve become involved in Real-Estate sales and appraising, while still flying as free agents for other companies that are still around in the area. But through it all, my parents have been self-employed and I really admire that.
HC: When did you get your ballooning license and what intrigued you to get into it?
BL: I first became a Private Balloon Pilot in the summer between my freshman and sophomore year here at USD. Since then, I have attained my Commercial Balloon Pilot rating—this allows me to fly people commercially for a company as a pilot for hire, as well as to instruct individuals to their own qualification as a Balloon Pilot. Seeing my parents empower themselves economically with ballooning inspired me to become a pilot myself. I was also always fascinated by the training of the senses that went into training for the task of piloting a hot air balloon and I’ve always had a burning desire in my stomach to someday be as good as my Dad. It was never really a question to me growing up as to whether or not I would be a Pilot, but rather, a question of when.
HC: I saw that you were able to balloon over Coachella before they finished setting up. How was that and how did you gain access to that?
BL: Working the hot air balloon tether at Coachella was quite the experience. The hours were pretty tough between the morning tethers and the daytime festivities and concerts, but it was absolutely worth it. I was awfully lucky to have worked that event—I’ve worked on and off with a commercial balloon company out of Temecula, CA since high school and when they got the bid to do the tether at the festival, I got one of the best emails ever. Working the tether gained me admission to the venue, so naturally I was grateful.
HC: Do you plan on keeping up with this in the future?
BL: Hot air ballooning is actually a key part of my future plans after I graduate. It’s truly my passion and I’ll be happy to do it for the rest of my life regardless of the paycheck. It’s something that I really love sharing with people and the fact that it can put food in my mouth is really just a plus. This summer I will be advertising discount flights online and flying quite frequently out of the Temecula area.
HC: What other aspirations do you have?
BL: It’s kind of tied in with my future plans involved in Ballooning, but my roommates and I have been hard at work for the past year or so on developing our own clothing brand, which we call R.A.D: Riding All Dreams. I along with my roommates: Alek Varela-Baez, Kevin Homaizad, and Jake Anderson, have worked with a number of different artists, designers, photographers and producers to build our artist-focused brand as well as a means to network the artists in our portfolio. Our plans after USD include using hot air ballooning as a means to market our brand as well as a way to raise capital for use to produce our clothes. We will be launching a few of our products this summer and will be eagerly pursuing store space in the San Diego area in the upcoming months, so be on the look out for some eye-catching California style outerwear designed by your peers!
HC: As this week’s campus celebrity, what do you wish for our school?
BL: First I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to let the campus know a little more about my aspirations and myself after I graduate. With that being said, my wish for our school is for students to ask each other what their aspirations are, and furthermore ask them how we can empower each other. Our residency as students at USD is a network of human beings that I fear we won’t be able to appreciate until we’ve already left it. Don’t waste a moment! Discover your passions, find the people you’ve been waiting your whole life to meet, and realize your dreams.