Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Ersin's love of flight and aeronautics "took off" at a young age. As a child, Ersin watched planes at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Maryland. When he was a little older, Ersin began his virtual pilot career as he took to the skies in the virtual Flight Simulator game. Beyond his hours of virtual flight, Ersin graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in 2013 with his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. After spending two years working as a systems engineer, Ersin continued his studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, earning a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering in 2017.
As he reached new heights in his career, Ersin's interests crossed the K÷rm÷n line into the final frontier, enjoying all things outer space. In President John F. Kennedy's address in 1962 at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort, President Kennedy said, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." Though President Kennedy spoke these words to describe the effort to reach the Moon, these words are reflective of Ersin as well. Ersin chooses to take on the tasks that are challenging. He chooses the paths that test his skills and grow him as a person in his career, on the soccer field, and in his relationships with others. He does not shy away from difficulty, but approaches it head on.
This gift is made in honor of Ersin's 30th birthday so that others may have the opportunity to experience the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and share in the delight Ersin has found in all things flight, air, and space.