ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Five students from the Ferguson-Florissant School District are getting ready for the next stages of their career thanks to the Red Tail Cadet Program, created by a local pastor.

It’s a short time on the runway before these high school senior cadets are anywhere from 3,500 to 5,000 feet in the sky, but it’s not the only heights they’re reaching for.

For high school senior Elizabeth Flick, the chance to join this flight crew has shown her the importance of what she’s capable of, and how she can now influence others in her direction.

“What I’m doing now is gonna reach everyone,” she said. “I’m super excited to see how that can inspire young children and young girls.”

Selected among a small group of students, the rigorous and exclusive selection into the program, is something Flick’s using to help her expand a dream she’s had for quite some time.

“I’m gonna push forward towards the Air Force Academy. Take another step towards becoming an astronaut,” Flick said.

The other high schoolers selected will head to a hotel where they’ll stay during training on Sundays through Thursdays. During that time, it’s early morning to late afternoon. The five students spend six weeks learning aerodynamics and aerial flight.

“Flying is not the hard part, it’s the information that comes with it,” said Martel Coleman, another member of the 2023 Red Tail Cadet class.

The five chosen cadets will get halfway toward earning their private pilot’s license. That time on the tarmac earned through their excellence in education.

“I was really soft-spoken. This program has taught me how to be more outspoken for myself,” Coleman said. It’s one of the traits he didn’t necessarily learn in the classroom. It’s the confidence he’s gained during his time at Elite Aviation that’s given him more confidence in who he is, and the questions he asks.

The impacts it’s having for students both on the ground and in the sky, is the result of a vision Pastor Anthony Meyers had for the area.

“‘Where are you from?’ I said Missouri, St Louis. They said, ‘Ferguson?’ It got me thinking that we have to change the narrative, and these kids change the narrative.” Meyers said.

He spent time with African pilots. After seeing how hard it was for them to learn to fly, he created a network of local sponsors to uplift Ferguson-Florissant students.

“I want to teach kids at Ferguson how to fly,” Meyers said.

It’s something that would normally cost them nearly $80,000. Meyers said he’s granting them the opportunity in exchange for a legacy he wants them to expand on.

“It’s the Red Tail Cadet program, in the history lineage of the Red Tails, Tuskegee Airmen,” he said.

From steep turns to simulating potential engine failures, six weeks in the sky, and now redefining history.

“Being a Red Tail means a lot,” Flick said.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, encouraging Ferguson-Florissant students to spread their wings.

“Prove a point to the world,” Flick said.

And encouraging her classmates to reach for the sky, because you never know what could lie ahead, or fly ahead.

“It’s been a blast,” she said. “Growing in the knowledge of aviation.”

These cadets will wrap up the program come August, before taking off on their next venture.