By Evelyn Rollins McDonald

First Officer Rollins, a.k.a. Earvie Rollins Jr., 30 years old, was born and raised in Richmond, California. He graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in 2011. He was reared in the Baptist church and is currently a musician at the St. John MBC in Richmond.

All his life he has had an interest in flying airplanes. He recalls at the age of 14, his dad took him to an aviation convention in Las Vegas. They would sit at the departure end of runways and watch planes land and take off. He also recalls his aunt living near the Travis Air Force Base where he loved to visit her so he could go spotting.

Officer Rollins took the necessary steps to acquire his license and started flight instruction in 2017 out of Livermore Municipal Airport at ATP Flight School. He obtained his FAA Flight Instructor Certificate and his FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate.

He began instructing in 2018, out of Oakland International Airport, teaching numerous people how to fly from zero experience to “somewhat” experience. After gaining 500 hours he became marketable for entry level aviation jobs. He then applied to an aerial survey company.

Flying for an aerial survey company, he encountered many opportunities and developed tons of aviation skills. At Aperture Aviation, he flew the Cessna 206 and had the privilege of traveling every other week around the United States and parts of Canada. Aperture Aviation specializes in the capture of high-quality aerial imagery throughout the U.S.

After two years of training with the aerial survey company he learned that there was a job opening for a First Officer position by a private charter company. He applied and flew to Dallas, Texas for the interview. After interviewing, he was offered the job. He later learned that the company had received over 150 online applications, conducted over 30 interviews, and only selected nine applicants. Fortunately, he was one of the nine. After being employed with the private charter company after six months he was blessed with the opportunity to upgrade to captain.

First Officer Rollins is currently flying the Boeing 737 for a major legacy airline.

First Officer Rollins gives God all the credit for his success. He has a deep and abiding faith. His favorite scripture is Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me.” He also credits his father, family, friends and church family as the best support system ever. He will also remember his dad saying: “Earvie, if another man can do it, you can do it too.” And that quote sticks with him to this day, especially when he feels overwhelmed or challenged.

First Officer Rollins states: “the main thing is, you can do whatever your heart desires! I’m a witness of this, if you would’ve asked me prior to 2017, if I could become a commercial pilot? I would’ve said no, due to thinking small minded. However, now I can say that in 2018, I turned my dream into a vision and today it’s reality. I made the dream into a vision, now it’s a reality. “And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” – Habakkuk 2:2

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