Louisville's Simmons College partners with local flight school to launch aviation program

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new wing coming to historic Simmons College of Kentucky is expected to help some students soar into a new career.

It's a partnership between Louisville's only Historically Black College and Equus Flight Academy. The goal is to help navigate more people of color to careers in aviation.

The purpose of a press conference held Friday afternoon was to show students that the sky is the limit.

"I've never been on a plane myself, so I thought it would be a brand new experience for me and also like, conquering my fears as well," Simmons sophomore Lanyeka Woods said.

Although Woods has never been on a plane, she's considering a career in aviation.

"I feel like you should just take a chance to decide what you want to do," she said.

Woods was one of dozens of students who attended Friday's press conference announcing Simmons' partnership with Equus Flight Academy.

"I did the research to make sure that it was viable," said Langston Gaither.

The partnership was born after Gaither, a Simmons volunteer, visited the flight school.

"They have the planes, we have the students, so we can make a flight school," said Gaither.

Ebony Bartee, owner and senior vice president of Equus Flight Academy, said the partnership will expose students to multiple career paths in aviation.

"What I've learned, instead of just putting our youth into a trade, maintenance engineer, pilot, then we're introducing degree tracks to them," said Bartee. "So they're able to go into the career fair of aviation, which gives them over 200 options."

Friday's announcement was made during the annual FAA-HBCU Aviation Day, which celebrated the life and legacy of Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to hold a pilot's license in the U.S.

"I've always wanted to be a pilot, since I was the age of three," said pilot Hermon Gabby Hewitt, a first officer at UPS.

Coleman was the first, but not the last.

"Had I known about her, I would have pursued it right away after high school," said Gabby Hewitt, who spoke to students at Friday's event. "I mean, there's nothing like it. I mean that's your office every day."

Right now, Simmons is in the process of adding an aviation degree program before the end of the school year.

To learn more about Simmons College, click here. To learn more about the Equus Flight Academy, click here.

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