For Severance High School Senior Greg Felker, the dream of becoming a pilot started very young.

“I really was hooked after a flight a few years back with my cousin, a Delta pilot, who let me take the controls of a small plane,” Felker shared.

That early exposure sparked a career passion that led him to Aims Community College’s Career Academy, where Felker was able to seek out hands-on aviation training well before graduation.

“It was really appealing to learn about something I was really passionate about,” Felker said.

The Career Academy program is a form of Concurrent Enrollment through which students take outlined college courses in a specific career pathway. Each of the Career Academy pathways trains students in an environment that simulates real-world experiences using industry-standard equipment. Students, like Felker, participate for free; tuition, fees, and course materials are paid by the district.*

Just last year, the program introduced Felker to drones and air traffic control, broadening his exposure to all that the aviation field has to offer. By this year, he was busy flying and working toward his private pilot’s license, all the while still attending regular high school classes.

Felker’s experience with the Career Academy program and his work toward getting his private pilot’s license also helped set him apart in his application to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., where he was accepted and will study aeronautical science this fall.

As he heads to Daytona Beach, Felker carries with him not just flight hours, but a confirmed calling and experience that will give him a head start on his career.

To learn more about Career Academy, visit weldre4.org.

__

*Note: There are costs associated with the second year of the Aviation Pilot Program, beyond tuition, that are the responsibility of the student.