Abu Dhabi: From a very young age, Marco Agustin Speranza, a former student at the Cambridge High School Abu Dhabi, had dreamed of becoming a pilot. But his friends were shocked to hear that the former Head Boy was met with a fatal crash during his first aviation class.
Remembered by his friends and former teachers as an “exceptionally talented student” with a “sunshine smile”, the school will be holding a memorial service in early March. Hearing the news of his death, the school has already observed a minute’s silence during the assembly for the former pupil who passed away on February 9.
According to a Spanish news agency, the 20-year-old Marco was one of four persons killed when the Cessna 172 crashed in Lomas de Zamora (located south of Buenos Aires) during a practice flight. Investigations are on to verify the cause of the accident.
In tribute to Marco, a friend posted the news of his death on Facebook and shared some of his memories with him.
“...If it wasn’t for Marco, I wouldn’t have gotten through school and I wouldn’t have gotten any better friends,” Johann George posted on Facebook. “He brought great joy and he was an inspiration to all his friends and the juniors who played [rugby and football] with him.”
“[Marco] was such a perfect gentlemen with such great potential, which makes it all the more a tragic loss,” the School Principal, Peter Lugg told Gulf News.
Originally from Argentina, Marco joined Cambridge High School in September 2003 when he was only a pupil in Grade five. Throughout his years at school, he played on the football and rugby teams and was selected to represent the UAE Gulf Rugby team in tournaments held in Malaysia and Thailand.
He was awarded the Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award for his outstanding results in IGCSE Spanish. Marco graduated in June 2011 and went back to his home country to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot. During his first class, the plane, which also had two instructors on board, crashed due to turbulent weather.
Marco’s friends posted several pictures of him and noted his remarkable sports performance and his contributions to the school’s teams. A friend also posted an article on the accident as reported by a Spanish news agency. Others simply paid tribute by sharing memories and thoughts.
- The writer is a trainee at Gulf News.
