Embry-Riddle graduate from Hilo aiming high

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Hilo native Justin Masanori Ignacio earned the prestigious Chancellor’s Award from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., graduating with a 4.0 cumulative GPA and a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and minors in aviation business administration and defense studies.

Hilo native Justin Masanori Ignacio earned the prestigious Chancellor’s Award from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., graduating with a 4.0 cumulative GPA and a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and minors in aviation business administration and defense studies.

The Chancellor’s Award is the highest bestowed to a graduating senior with an exceptional record of academic accomplishment and a high level of campus and community involvement while maintaining a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA.

Ignacio was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force as an operator of remotely piloted aircraft. He is stationed at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio.

Ignacio was honored for his academic excellence as a summa cum laude recipient and as the “Outstanding Aerospace Engineering Graduate.”

He is a 2010 graduate of Waiakea High School and the son of Jay and Ann Ignacio of Hilo.