Written by AMA staff (02/2008); Transcribed by JS (02/2008), Reformatted by JS (11/2009)
Ryan Naccarato of Burbank, California, is the recipient of an $8,500 Charles Hampson Grant Scholarship, a $5,000 Telford Scholarship, and a $2,500 Toledo Weak Signals Club award. He is receiving $16,000 from various scholarship programs.
Completing high school with a cumulative GPA of 3.96 out of a possible 4.49, Ryan graduated from John Burroughs High School.
As a Boy Scout, Ryan has volunteered much time to his community. He has performed numerous hours of service working at local parks, churches, museums, and wildlife reserves and recently attained the rank of Eagle Scout.
Ryan has taken part in Odyssey of the Mind, an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. He received first place regionally through the program. Additionally, Ryan participated two years in Mathematical Modeling where teams of undergraduates use mathematical modeling to present their solutions to real-world problems.
Ryan is the son of Tony Naccarato Jr. and grandson of Addie Mae Naccarato. Both well-known aeromodelers, it is easy to see where Ryan got his knack for flying as well as desire. He is a member of the Black Sheep Squadron, originally named the Black Sheep Exhibitionists, founded by his father.
As a member of the Black Sheep Squadron, Ryan has had the opportunity to teach at schools and attend shows such as the AMA Convention to fly and demonstrate models. He enjoys flying all types of models from Radio Control to hand-launched gliders (HLG.) He especially enjoys Free Flight models of all types.
“I fondly recall memories of chasing models around the desert on my motorcycle and timing them at events,” Ryan wrote.
Ryan is an avid modeling competitor. Beginning in 1995, he has competed in events including the United States Free Flight Championships, the Navy Carrier Society’s Carrier Championships, and the Black Sheep Free Flight Championships. Ryan holds two Indoor HLG national records, the first when he was 9 years old, and took two first places in Control Line Navy Carrier at the 2004 Nats.
Although a full-time student, Ryan found the time to maintain a few jobs. He worked at his father’s hobby shop, T & A Hobby Lobby. He also spent summers at a 9-5 job working at a manufacturing company in Los Angeles as a CAD operator.
Ryan plans to attend the University of California at Davis. He intends to double major in chemistry and mathematics to fulfill his dream to be an anesthesiologist.
Congratulations and good luck at the University of California!
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