High-Flying Blue Streaks

Students earning pilot licenses to embark on careers in aviation

Career plans for Lily Green ’25 and Chloe Horan ’25 are ready for takeoff: The two friends are preparing to become commercial pilots and, as high school students, have already taken the first steps towards obtaining their private pilot licenses.  

“I’m really excited to start flying,” Horan said. 

The students attended ground school last summer at T&G Flying Club at Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport for their Genesis experience, the Magnificat graduation requirement to spend 40 hours exploring a career of interest. Green had previously considered becoming an anesthesiologist, but she was inspired by her mother—Southwest Airlines pilot and Magnificat alumna Joanne Stepic ’94—to pursue a career in aviation. 

“She was talking to me about it and how she gets to spend overnights in really cool places,” Green said. “So I was like, that actually sounds pretty cool!” 

Her mother arranged a discovery flight for the two young women in Florida during spring break, during which a flight instructor explained the basics of flying a small airplane and let the students help control the aircraft. They were a little nervous before the flight, they said, knowing that the flight could either confirm their interest in becoming pilots—or steer them in another direction altogether. 

“We were both in shock and so overwhelmed with how much we loved it,” Horan said. “We literally could not stop smiling after we did the discovery flight.” 

Since completing ground school, the students continued studying the content with mentorship from Stepic in preparation for a Federal Aviation Administration exam testing their knowledge. They reviewed between classes at Magnificat and took up to two practice tests each day in the weeks leading up to the exam, which covered topics like aerodynamics and balancing weight around a plane. While most of the math needed to complete calculations was new to them and not part of their Magnificat coursework, both passed in November. 

The next stage of their journey will take them to Fort Myers, Florida, after they graduate from Magnificat this spring. There they will live together and attend flight school at Paragon Flight Training as part of their college education through Purdue University. They will start taking Purdue classes online as soon as this summer with an undergraduate major in professional flight within the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology. While a college degree is not necessary to become a pilot, the students will gain broader understanding of the aviation industry that will be helpful at a commercial airline. 

Over the next few years they will take an oral exam, log numerous flight hours, and complete more licensing credentials. Their hope is to start at a regional airline and then work their way up to captain positions at a major airline. 

Looking back at their time at Magnificat, the students said that the emphasis on leadership is helping them chart their path forward. Becoming a pilot is not a common choice, they pointed out, especially in a profession dominated by men. Gender stereotypes are certainly something Green’s mother has faced in the industry over the course of her career. For example, she had to talk to her supervisor about there only being a men’s uniform shirt for pilots, eventually getting an option better fitted for women. 

“Everyone’s always shocked to hear that I’m going to be a pilot,” Green said. “Whenever we say flight school, they are like, ‘Flight attendant?’ and we say, ‘No, a pilot.’”