GEUAGA COUNTY, Ohio — Melody Steiner's dream is to be a pilot.
At the root of that dream is a desire to help people. Steiner wants to become a pilot for Samaritan's Purse, a Christian Humanitarian Aid Organization.
"The thing that I like is that you can help a lot of people through flying," she said. "You can travel to other countries to help."
Steiner is one of several students who took part in a new aviation course on the Ashtabula Technical and Career Campus.
News 5 visited the course in August 2024.
Steiner's love of flying began before taking the class. At age seven, she approached her mom, Maria Steiner, about taking flight lessons.
"The only reservation that I can say that I had was the cost," she said. "It's a big commitment financially if you're not fully committed. So, not sure how that would pan out, I told her that we would not fund it."
Being the go-getter she is, Melody Steiner found a way to pay for those lessons by selling cotton candy.
After her company Sunbow 57 Girls made the rounds at different markets, she had enough to start working with instructor David Tiber.
"You don't find a lot of 14-year-olds who have a vision of what they want to do when they are adults," Tiber said. "She does. She's got a focus and a laser focus."
For the last two years, Tiber has walked Steiner through the basics of flying a glider. He's been in the back seat for most of her flights until December last year when she took her first solo flight.
"I was on the ground," he said. "I was a nervous wreck."
On the other hand, Steiner remained calm on the tarmac of the Geauga Aiport on a cold Saturday morning. After a few pre-flight checks, a plane lifted a glider in the air with Melody in the pilot seat.
Once the rope between the plane and the glider dropped, she was alone. The teen said she wasn't scared at all. She navigated the skies for a few minutes and then made a perfect landing back at the airport.
It was a proud moment for both of them.
"I couldn't wait until the glider stopped," Tiber said. "Get her out of the plane and give her a big hug. That's exactly what we did."
Still, she has to wait a bit before becoming a licensed pilot. She can get her private pilot's license at 16. Then, she can get a commercial and a power plane license in the following years.
For now, it's back to the books for the teen. She's still excited about her latest achievement.
"It feels really good to accomplish one of my many goals," she said.
