Pathways

For Nicole Vacas-English ’19, the sky’s the limit. Her ambitious nature has taken her from competitive rowing (she even represented her native Ecuador in the 2016 Latin American Olympic Trials) to piloting Black Hawk helicopters.

Vacas-English arrived at Bucknell planning to study computer engineering but found her philosophy and political science classes so engaging that she decided to switch. As a double-major in those disciplines, she began plotting a course for law school.

Balancing the rigorous demands of rowing for a Division I athletic program and a double-major might deter others from taking on more commitments. Not Vacas-English. She signed up for ROTC, which enveloped her in a tight-knit community and revealed a new career path.

Upon graduation, Vacas-English secured a spot in Army Aviation’s flight school in Fort Novosel, Ala. She emerged as a lieutenant and Black Hawk helicopter pilot focused on emergency medical evacuations and wildfire-fighting missions. “I spent two years fighting wildfires in Montana, Idaho, Nevada, California and Oregon,” she says. “It was a schedule of 12 days on and two days off. It was intense, but I absolutely loved it.”

That love didn’t extinguish her law school aspirations. Today, she balances both passions. She lives in South Dakota, where she serves in the National Guard and works as a paralegal, conducting research to build defense cases. “I love being part of the justice system and helping people,” says Vacas-English, who plans to attend law school next year.

“Where I live, a lot of people think I’m crazy — it seems odd to pursue multiple dreams at once,” she says. “People ask, ‘Isn’t flying enough? Do you also have to be a lawyer?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes!’ ”