STOW, Ohio — Some of the students of Cleveland ACE Academy aren't even old enough to drive a car, but on Thursday, they got to put their skills to the test as they took off into the sky on a special flight day.
Stephanie Johnson—Director of Cleveland ACE Academy, Delta Airlines captain, and member of Black Aerospace Professionals—knows how important representation is in the aviation industry.
"Since I became a pilot in, in all of my training there weren't really very many people that looked like me learning how to fly. And as I continued on in aviation I would go to schools and talk to kids and a lot of people, even their parents, didn't even know that there was an option," Johnson said. "Aerospace career education is an opportunity to show students that there are many opportunities, there's something for you. Find your passion, go for it and we are a resource to them as well."
That's why Johnson was particularly excited Thursday. Eighteen students, ranging in grades from eight to 12, arrived at the Kent State Univerity Airport in Stow, getting the opportunity to fly a plane for the very first time.
"We have 18 students that are going to be getting a ride in a Cessna 172 with the Kent State University flight instructor, one of which is my daughter, Alexandra, who I'm so proud of," Johnson said. "The kids have been learning about aviation all week long. And this is a day that they get to incorporate some of what they learn and see it real-world, hands-on, they actually get to fly an airplane."
Before the flight day, students had been training for their flight on a simulator.
“The simulator got us ready. We were all ready and we just wanted to enjoy this because it’s all our first time doing this," said Brunswick 11th grader Kylie Dighton. “It just prepares you for the real plane. Cock it back, cock it forward, same thing.”
Split into groups of two, the students took part in two take-offs—one riding in the back of the plane, and the other handling the controls of the plane with an instructor by their side to help them along the way. Going into their flights, the students seemed calm, cool, and collected—but of course, there were some nerves.
"I was very nervous. I thought I was like I'm gonna crash this plane. I didn't crash the plane though. Because I had an instructor right next to me helping. Very, very, very kind to me," Kennedy Robinson, an 11th grader at Andrews Osborne Academy, said with a smile.
Robinson joined the program after her mom suggested it to her and she decided to check it out. Aviation wasn't in her plans—she wants to be a doctor—but it has shown her a new approach to her goals.
"They've shown me so many different career pathways in life through aviation in this program. I am now going to look into those pathways, they showed me systems operator to pilot to Air Force and Navy. So I'm really excited about this. And I appreciate that very much," Robinson said. "It kind of didn't deter me from the path that I was already going to try and take but now I'm looking into Air Force and being a medic with the Air Force."
For Dighton, the day propelled her closer to the goals she's already set for herself.
“This program opened up a lot. I might even be interested in the control center...They take you everywhere, they take you to all these places and it led me to a step of where I need to go," Dighton said. “Maybe Air Force fighter jets, that’s where I want to go."
Meanwhile, Johnson hopes that the program will not only help inspire the students who went up in planes but encourage the next generation of aviators to take flight.
"I hope they see that and know that their value is greater than what they thought it was before. They come to the academy and they tell their friends and then they tell their friends, and it just grows and continues to be better," Johnson said. "It's really important that we inspire kids in the aviation industry because we need people we need future aviators. We need future aerospace technicians, aerospace engineers. We need folks in these career fields and we need diversity in these career fields because the world is a diverse place and if our students with diverse backgrounds don't pursue it, there's not going to be any growth in the industry it's there's there plenty of opportunities and there's room for them, and they're only going to make it better."
To learn more about the program, click here.
In May, News 5's Clay LePard covered ACE Academy's mission.
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