David Guerra Honored by Embry-Riddle

Bandera, TX — October 2, 2026 — There are some people who pass through our lives.  And then there are those who leave a piece of themselves behind.  David A. Guerra was one of those people.  To those who knew him in Pipe Creek, Lakehills and Bandera County, David was the young man with the ready smile, the infectious laugh, and the remarkable ability to make people feel welcome.   To his friends at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, he was a fellow student, mentor, filmmaker, newspaper staff member, and friend.  

To his family, he was a beloved son. And to everyone who knew his dreams, he was a young man determined to  someday work with NASA. David didn't get the chance. But his dream is still moving forward.  Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, has named a student scholarship in David's honor—creating a lasting legacy for a young man whose life ended just one semester before he was scheduled to graduate.  David died in January 2026 after being diagnosed with leukemia the previous month.  He was only 21.  

Today, students at one of America's premier aviation and aerospace universities will carry a little piece of David with them as they pursue their own futures. And that may be exactly what David would have wanted.  

David graduated from Bandera High School in 2022, where he was inducted into the National Honor Society and participated in numerous Bulldog sports and activities. But even as a young boy, David had already set his sights much higher. He worked hard to soar high.  He wanted to work for NASA. After graduating from Bandera High School, he left the familiar hill country of Bandera County and headed to Daytona Beach to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, pursuing a degree in Space Operations.   For David, Embry-Riddle wasn't simply a university.  It was a step toward a lifelong dream. And he embraced it completely. He became involved with The Avion as the editor, and served on its Executive Board being involved with Embry-Riddle's student newspaper was a passion for him. He produced and edited short films. He excelled academically and with honors. And he spent time mentoring students who wanted to attend Embry-Riddle or continue their education there.  He mentored elementary and high school students.  He wasn't simply preparing for his own future. He was helping others prepare for theirs.  

Then, with graduation just one semester away, everything changed. In December 2025, David was diagnosed  with leukemia.  Less than a month later, his life was over and he was laid to rest at Pipe Creek Cemetery, returning home to the community where his story had begun.  But David's story wasn't finished.  It may never be.

Seth Robbins, Media Director at Embry-Riddle, said David gave himself freely to the university and to the people around him.  “David Guerra gave selflessly of himself to the university in many ways, including through campus organizations,” Robbins said. “His passion for the university will live on through this scholarship in his name.” The David A. Guerra scholarship is awarded to a first-generation Embry-Riddle student entering their second academic year. And now, through the scholarship, David's name will continue to be spoken on the campus he loved.  “He will forever be an Eagle,” Robbins said. 

This year's recipient was Clayton Loughary.  For Loughary, the scholarship came with a meaning that went far beyond the financial assistance it provides.  It carried the memory of a friend and mentor.  “Losing David was hard,” Loughary said. “But I think Joshua 1:9, David's favorite Bible verse, is what got me through this past Spring semester.”   Loughary remembers David for what so many others remember first. His smile.  “No matter how hard things got for David, he never showed it, only his outward and never-ending smile,” Loughary said. “The one that we all probably know him and will remember him for.” But there was more to David than a smile. There was something about him that made people want to be around him. “The biggest effect of David not being here is that it does certainly feel like something is missing,” Loughary said. “David was special. Somehow, he was friends with everyone and yet found the time to hang out with all of us.”  

For Harvey and Lucinda Guerra of Pipe Creek, hearing that Embry-Riddle had established a scholarship in their son's name was deeply emotional. “Words cannot express how deeply grateful our family is to Embry-Riddle for honoring David in such a meaningful way,” they said.  David loved the university and its students, and he loved helping young people pursue their dreams.  “Knowing that David's name, his love for Embry-Riddle, and his legacy will live on through this scholarship is a gift our family will treasure,” they said.    Then came words that perhaps say more than anything else about the kind of young man David was. “He would have wanted exactly this.”  The family said they are deeply moved knowing David will continue inspiring students for years to come.  “We pray for blessings upon David's classmates and everyone who knew and loved him,” they said. “Thank you, Embry-Riddle, for remembering David with this new student scholarship. It's something he would have wanted.”  

David's gift for making people feel at home reached far beyond Texas.  During his senior year at Bandera High School, he became close friends with Edoardo “Edo” Cioli, a foreign exchange student from Milan, Italy.  Edoardo arrived in America thousands of miles from home, in a country and community that was completely unfamiliar. Then he met David. “David was more than a friend to me—he became my brother,” Cioli said.   David was one of the first people who made Edoardo feel at home.  “His warmth and friendship made everything feel a little more like home.  I will carry his friendship, his memory, and his light with me always.”  That friendship left an impression that distance and time could not erase.  

David's legacy isn't only found in a university scholarship.  It can also be found in a cockpit flight simulator in Lakehills, just down the road from his childhood home in Pipe Creek, Texas.  Ron Clarke, who served as Edoardo's U.S. host parent, met David and his family through their friendship in 2022.  Clarke had an ambitious idea: build an authentic cockpit flight simulator that could introduce people to aviation and give aspiring pilots a chance to experience what it feels like to fly. When Clarke told David about the project, David didn't just offer encouragement.  He went to work.  David gave six  weeks of his summer break from Embry-Riddle to help design and build the simulator.  Today, more than 260 aspiring pilots have flown the simulator David helped create.  

Clarke sees something profoundly meaningful in that.  “Even if we can't see David, we can still feel the influence he gave us in the future pilots of tomorrow,” Clarke said. And now, he believes that same influence is reaching another generation through the Embry-Riddle scholarship. “Much in the same way, he now will influence the futures of Embry-Riddle students with this scholarship.  We will not forget his name.” and that may be the simplest tribute of all.  

David Guerra never got to walk across the stage at Embry-Riddle.  But he did earn the Space Operations degree he had worked so hard to complete.  He never got to pursue the NASA career he had dreamed about since childhood. And his family, friends and classmates never got the years with him that they deserved.  

But David left something behind that leukemia could not take away. He left his kindness. His laughter. His friendship. His example.  He left 260 aspiring pilots who have already experienced a piece of aviation because he gave his time to build something that could inspire them.  There is something fitting about that. David spent his life looking toward the sky. He didn't live long enough to get there himself.  But his greatest legacy will be helping others get there both at Embry-Riddle and here in Bandera County.

Every time a student receives the David A. Guerra Scholarship, a little piece of that dream will take flight again.  Every time his name is spoken on the Embry-Riddle campus and here in Bandera County, his story will continue.  And every time one of those students or us looks toward the sky and wonders what might be possible, David's legacy will be there.  It won't go away - it will simply go out into the world.

For information about Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, visit www.erau.edu.  For information about the Jeffrey Selby Training Center Flight Simulator in Lakehills, visit  www.hillcountryflight.org