Timour Kounikeev是太阳城娱乐官网的一名航空专业学生。 He is also 太阳城娱乐官网’s first recipient of the SkyWest飞行员通道计划. 他对航空领域的迷恋始于他还是个小男孩的时候，当时他和家人一起度假，看着飞机在机场起降。

While nearly 40% of 航空的学生 at 太阳城娱乐官网 are international students, as of 2022, Kounikeev is from Los Angeles. 但一个鲜为人知的事实是，他拥有美国和俄罗斯联邦的双重国籍，因为他的父母来自俄罗斯。

由于对飞机的迷恋，他想走管理路线，成为一名空中交通管制员。 However, he then took his first discovery flight with 太阳城娱乐官网’s Chief Flight Instructor, and he decided to pursue the 专业先导计划. 第一次飞行也成了他的第一堂飞行课。

考虑到他未来的目标，库尼基耶夫开始研究他想在未来五到十年内工作的区域航空公司，并发现了天空西部计划。 他了解到他们有一个学员项目，帮助学员在留在大学校园完成飞行训练的同时，实现成为一名商业航空公司飞行员的目标。

“I liked the benefits of the program. Then, saw they preferred a commercial pilot license, so I was hesitant to apply,” Kounikeev said. “At that time, I didn’t have any part of my pilot license.” 尽管如此，他还是决定申请。

几周后，Kounikeev收到了来自SkyWest的电子邮件，说他被他们的项目录取了，并被指派了一名导师，这将帮助他过渡到航空业。

Before he started his aviation degree at 太阳城娱乐官网, Kounikeev was told by Aviation Director Captain Ballinger “that it would be a difficult program and you needed grit to get through. If you have a bad exam or flight, you need to shrug it off and do better next time.”

事实证明这是真的。 “During the first semester I struggled to do my first solo flight.” Kounikeev explained, “I had 15 cancellations due to bad weather. Which pushed my training back.” 库尼基耶夫说，如果没有毅力和每天牢记自己的职业目标，很容易因为挫折和失望而放弃。

Kounikeev’s determination and perseverance have paid off. After his initial solo, “training went by quickly and smoothly with few interruptions. Now I am almost done.” And while he was afraid to apply to SkyWest for fear he would be rejected, he says this experience has taught him “not to be afraid of applying for opportunities.” 

本学期，他将参加私人飞行员考试，并计划于2023年秋季毕业。 在那之后，在客机的驾驶舱里找他。