It’s not unusual for high school students to visit Southeast Missouri State University, but when they fly there, it is something new. Six high school students flew into the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport Wednesday, July 20, to learn about Southeast’s new professional pilot degree.

The students were members of the Red Tail Cadet Program (RTCP) and flew a separate plane with a flight instructor from the Chesterfield, MO airport to Cape. The RTCP is an aviation program that enables at-risk youth to obtain their pilot’s licenses. Each student in the program is selected from a competitive pool of applicants from the Ferguson-Florissant School District based on their academic excellence, community involvement, and aptitude for success in a rigorous aviation program. The program is a six-week immersive flight-training experience designed to develop students in the classroom, and in life.

The cadets were met first by Katrina Amos, airport manager. Then, they headed to SEMO where they heard from Miranda Sullivan, assistant professor; Kenneth Jackson, director of aviation operations; and Dr. Brad Deken, chair of the Department of Engineering & Technology.

"It was a pleasure getting to talk to the young men and women of the Red Tail Cadets," said Sullivan. "The students were very engaging and enthusiastic about their futures in aviation. One of our goals in creating the Professional Pilot Program at SEMO was to help make aviation education and careers more accessible to students in the region. I believe the Red Tail Cadet Program shares our goals for student success in the aviation industry and I hope this is the beginning of a long relationship with them."

The students were provided with information about the relatively new pilot program including curriculum, FAA certifications, and even academic advisors specific to assisting students seeking a degree in professional pilot. Luckily, the members of the Red Tail Cadet Program will be entering an aviation program with some flying hours under their belt.

One of the Certified Flight Instructors (CFI) who accompanied the RTCP stated that he was impressed with Southeast’s pilot program and thought bringing these six students would be a great opportunity for them to explore a regional university that offers an aviation degree.

Gary Dentsbier, CFI, talked about how each student was selected for the RTCP based on tough criteria and spoke about the support the program receives from multiple sponsors, including Boeing.