Texas Tech has a lot of interesting clubs and organizations (quidditch team, steampunk society, archery, Pokemon, and literally hundreds more) but one of the coolest, and the most life-threatening, is the Air Raiders Skydiving Club.

They meet up every so often to drive out to a small airport in Hobbs, New Mexico, and I joined them on one trip in September of 2013. Ben Fox, the then Video Editor of The Daily Toreador, and I went up in a tiny, rickety old plane with three members of the club to photograph and video them jumping out. Even with only five people (plus the pilot) in the plane, we had to sit on top of each other to fit.

Having only been on big, commercial planes, this was a new experience for me…and putting on a parachute “just in case” was another. It was a quick trip up to 11,000 feet and back, but it was a lot of fun and definitely something I’d like to photograph again if given the chance.