WHAT INSPIRES IGNACIO MONTOYA

■ Staying positive: “I am a faith-based goal-setter. I always have a to-do list and am always aware of my present while contemplating and planning my future.”

■ Achieving the dream of flight: “Take advantage of every opportunity, and waste nothing because the sky is not the limit, it is only my next barrier that I must go through to get to space.”

■ Perspective on his injury: “I see this injury and situation as my personal mission, and, just as I trained hard as an officer to never give up and excel against all obstacles, this is now my approach to life and this injury.”

■ Motivating quote: “For once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.” — Leonardo da Vinci

■ Childhood hero and friend: Cuban fighter pilot Maj. Orestes Lorenzo, who left Cuba in his MiG-23 fighter bound for the Florida Keys and in search of freedom. Lorenzo spent the next year trying through diplomatic means to gain the release from Cuba of his wife and two sons. When all else failed, the major flew a small airplane back to Cuba, landed on a highway and rescued them before the military got wind.

■ Recognized: This year, the Georgia House passed House Resolution 301, recognizing Montoya for his perseverance, strength and hard work in advancing the field of biomedical engineering, especially the treatment of spinal cord injuries.