Victoria Teresko

Imagine being 13,000 feet in the air in a plane and then deciding, on your own free will, that jumping out would be the most fun option.

For junior Adam Ghannoum, who studies mechanical engineering and applied mathematics, this is his favorite way to spend a sunny day. He has been involved in skydiving for three years.

“I always wanted to try it since I saw it in a movie when I was little,” Ghannoum said. “When I got to college it just seemed like a fun idea. I had a buddy who was into it and I went out and did a first jump. I was hooked right away and signed up for the class to do my first solo jump.”

The place where Ghannoum calls his home dropzone is AerOhio in Rittman. His parents were a little less than enthused to have their son jumping out of airplanes up to 15 times a day, weather permitting. So far, he has skydived over 600 hundred times. However, soon Ghannoum’s father was curious about the sport his son had become addicted to, and went for his first jump on Father’s Day.

“Being able to see how excited he was and seeing the moment where he realized what it was all about was amazing,” said Ghannoum.

This is a male dominated sport. However, according to Ghannoum, some of the best skydivers are females. Ghannoum’s own girlfriend, Jen Winter, has become involved in the sport. Skydiving is like a small family of adrenaline junkies.

“Recently, a guy I’ve jumped with a few times had a parachute collapse during landing and was in the ICU for a few weeks,” he said. “He’s recovering now but it’s a small community and incidents close to home remind you to respect the sport, remember your limits and appreciate your friendships.”

According to Ghannoum, his short-term goals include to keep improving and hopefully not hitting the ground.

Anyone interested in getting a rush of a lifetime can call 1-800-SKYDIVE or visit AerOhio’s Facebook page.