The Hill's 50 Most Beautiful People

Age: 34
Hometown: St. Petersburg, Fla.
Political party: Independent
Relationship status: Married

If everything had gone as planned, Warren Wright, a military fellow in Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) office, would be flying helicopters and relaxing in Southern California with his wife and kids right now. But two years ago, opportunity came knocking.

Wright, a helicopter pilot for the Coast Guard, had been stationed in Kodiak, Alaska, for two years, and it was time for his reassignment. Pressured by his peers, the aviator applied for a congressional fellowship but did not expect to advance past the first round of interviews.

“When they called me for the final interview, I was shocked,” he says. “I got the call and I literally hopped on the next plane to D.C. I had to buy a suit at the Men’s Wearhouse before I got on the plane.”

Wright became obsessed with flying as a child after he saw “Top Gun.” After graduating from the United States Merchant Marine Academy, he entered flight school and quickly became a Coast Guard helicopter pilot.

“Originally, I had no intention of working on the Hill,” he says. “When I was in high school, all I very much knew was that I liked playing sports, and when I left, I wanted to go into the military and fly.”

Giving up flying, Wright says, was one of the hardest things about moving to Washington. The aviator officially lost his wings on Jan. 1, a day he says was “very sad.”

Wright says his time in the nation’s capital has opened his eyes to new career paths. He recently applied to the military’s Judge Advocate General program and hopes to practice law in the Coast Guard fleet.

But if law school doesn’t work out, Wright says he’d be more than happy to return to the Coast Guard for a cushy assignment in Southern California.

— Zach Bergson

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