Los Gatos Patch Whiz Kid of the Week—Chandler Lougée

Chandler Lougée

School: Junior at

Accomplishments:

• First solo in glider airplane in December of 2011
• Mission specialist at Space Camp in Huntsville, AL
• Played flute in Marching Band
• Honors in French
• Completed five Mermaid Triathlons
• Climbed Half Dome and El Capitan
• 3 years of Student Oceanography Club at Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Rock climber, bicyclist, and archer
• Avid science fiction reader, writer, and watcher
• Blossoming photographer and artist

Key to Awesomeness:

In mom Barbara Lougée words: "If one were to imagine soaring thousands of feet up in the air and given the freedom to maneuver in your own independent way, then you would be in the shoes of Chandler."

Chandler started flying two years ago. She received her first flying lesson for her birthday and she decided it was so much fun that she's continued to try it, she said.

“The important thing is to keep doing new things and savor the experience,” Chandler said in an email interview.

Chandler takes her flying lessons at Byron Airport near Livermore. “It was just awesome to look down from the cockpit and to take in the view of the colorful terrain and vast skies above.”  

She hopes to earn her pilot’s license later this summer. “I just like heights, I guess,” she wrote about her fascination with flying and airplanes.

Chandler is aiming even higher. She wants to go into space as an astronaut and wants to study aerospace engineering and aeronautics in college.

She is a frequent volunteer at local events, such as supporting the Loma Prieta Volunteer Fire and Rescue team with her firefighter dad, Lance Lougée, and events at with her mom.