Final destination:

Getting to cherubs was more than just a bumpy ride

By Tate Tuckman

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are expecting some aircraft difficulty and we will need to perform an emergency landing,” the pilot said.

Passenger, Amy Parlapiano of Scarsdale, N.Y. began to wonder if she was going to make it to cherubs. Luckily for Parlapiano, she was not alone. Accompanying her were three other cherubs: Ali Elkin, Liza Pincus and myself. All the students were in the same position, wondering if they were going to survive.

“I had no idea what was going to happen,” Parlapiano said. “I leaned my head into the tray table, as I was instructed. This was known as the evacuation procedure. I thought in my head, 'Wow, I might die.' I wasn’t panicking at this moment, but the thought of death wouldn’t leave my head.”

Elkin said she was more bewildered than scared. 

“I remember literally the first thought that came to my mind,” Elkin said. “I am not dying right after I finish junior year.”

The flight landed in Pittsburgh, and for a total of nine hours, Parlapiano and the other girls waited for their plane to be fixed or for another plane. All flights were booked and the only one available was an 8 p.m. flight to Chicago.

 Pincus fortunately got a 5 p.m. flight. She still doesn’t know how she managed to do this, but said she was just happy it happened.

“I fell asleep the second the plane from Pittsburgh to Chicago took off and woke up when we landed,” Pincus said. “It was my first time in Chicago but I had never been so happy to be anywhere in my entire life.”

Although Pincus arrived earlier than the other cherubs, she still missed orientation. She said was exhausted from her dramatic day, and all she wanted was sleep.

By the time Parlapiano and Elkin arrived, it was about 11 p.m.

“On top of how tired I was, I was also worried because everyone was coming back from their first assignment and seemed to know each other already.” Parlapiano said. “I was still moving all my stuff in my room and didn't know anyone but my traveling friends.”

To make things worse, Parlapiano was assigned a single room. She said she dreaded and feared that this experience was not what she had hoped for.

Nonetheless, Parlapiano settled in. She got a good night’s sleep and woke up for the first full day of the program, which kept her so busy that the airplane mishap seemed distant.

“Wow, there is no time to sit and be depressed,” she said. “This is the craziest, most exciting day I have ever had.

At the end of the five weeks, Parlapiano's fears of not making friends and living in a single have disappeared.

“I have made friends here that will last me a lifetime,” she said. “I am having such a great time. I don't even remember the details of the plane. It's now a minor detail and I don't regret for a second coming here.”