When Bella Harvey’s Northwest Yeshiva High School (NYHS) classmates learned that she once co-piloted a plane, they thought it was pretty cool.
As a member of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), Harvey — who is a freshman at the Mercer Island school — joined a pilot on a high-flying orientation ride in a small Cessna plane as part of her training.
“It is really cool. They were impressed,” said Harvey, 15, who is currently a CAP cadet senior airman with the official volunteer auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. Her Overlake Composite Squadron meets weekly at the Redmond Armory.
Harvey joined the CAP squadron three years ago and has learned about aerospace education and emergency services, practiced for search and rescue missions, operated drones and engaged in plenty of drilling, including marching.
“Overlake prides itself on training and mentoring outstanding young leaders, effective team players, and selfless citizens,” reads the CAP web site.
A massive accomplishment for Harvey was passing the cadet physical fitness test on Oct. 21. She can now begin ranking up toward cadet staff sergeant after excelling in the mile run, push ups, crunches and a PACER (Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run) test.
“When I did it, I was like, ‘Yes, I passed, I did it, now I can rank up,’” she said.
Along with tackling the physical aspects of her CAP training, Harvey has experienced personal growth each step of the way.
Leadership is at the top of her accomplishments list: “Before I started CAP, I don’t think I would have been able to lead like I can now. They also have given me the ability to talk in front of people more. Now I’m more comfortable in doing it, and I’m more comfortable in creating plans on what to do for the meeting — leading,” she said.
Harvey was drawn toward CAP when she attended her brother John’s CAP open house and heard about flying planes, helping people through search and rescue missions and becoming involved in volunteer service.
CAP is a good fit for Bella, who hopes to stick with the organization until she reaches the maximum cadet age of 18. She’d like to go into the military after high school and perhaps become a police officer later or work with her dad as a commercial landlord.
“Or I could just stick in the military, but I’m not too sure. I do want to help people, though. I know that,” she said.
For now, the Bellevue resident is especially interested in printmaking at NYHS and she also enjoys reading multiple genres of books, including fantasy, action, horror and romance.
A pair of NYHS teachers said that Bella is a hardworking and stellar student in their classes.
“She approaches challenges with determination and enthusiasm, always striving for excellence and eager to help and inspire those around her,” said Judaics instructor Shimona Davidoff.
Added biology instructor Ben Legel: “She plays an active role during lab experiments, records careful data, and deeply cares about her learning. Bella is a curious student who enjoys learning more about the natural world.”
