As Tennessee State University prepares teenagers to become the next generation of airplane pilots and technicians, it is marking a momentous occasion for the school and its students.

According to WKRN, the U.S. Air Force selected TSU to host 19 aviation trainees from across the country and abroad, including students from Japan. As a result, dreams are coming true for students like Preston Jones and Naomi Hill, who attend the Aim High Flight Academy. Additionally, with this program, high school students can fly in simulators. TSU and the U.S. Air Force are funding the program.

“I think being around people who look like me and being in an environment similar to where I’m at home, helps me adjust a lot more,” Hill said in an interview with News Channel 5 Nashville. “It really feels nice and cozy, in a way.”

Furthermore, the Aim High Flight Academy is for teens ages 16 to 18. TSU received a $500,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to host the program.

In addition to lectures and flight simulators on campus, participants will receive hands-on training at John C. Tune Airport. After completing the three-week program, students will have gained up to 15 flight hours toward a pilot license. They can also use the hours towards STEM education.

Mark Tian, a California resident and incoming first-year at Stanford University, said this program allows him to be of service.

“For me, engineering is one of my childhood passions, but just being able to make change with your own two hands, like, to be able to see a problem in front of you and not just be a bystander,” Tian told WKRN, “but be someone who actively works to solve a problem…I’m very happy and very impassioned to be surrounded by such motivated and talented people and that really pushes me to do my best, as well.”

u.s air force

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week