Earning Her
wings
High School Senior Fullfills Dream S t o ry by Ka r en Ra nf t
M
ost teenagers are focused on getting their first set of wheels and ruling the road, but Seguin High School senior Brianna Steans has taken it a step higher by earning her wings to prove she is ready to take on the sky. She recently took the first step on a skyward journey as she shoots for the stars with her dream of becoming an astronaut. “I wanted to earn my wings because it seemed fun,” Steans said. “It is essentially proof that I have flight experience in a plane, so someone will take me seriously enough to give me a chance to achieve the goals I have set for myself. I am a woman of color, aspiring to be an astro-
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naut, and that’s not something you hear every day, but I am determined, so the opinions of others shouldn’t set me back. I know what I want, and I know the path I am going to take so I should be able to overcome anything.” Steans was among the first group of Seguin High School Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) students to graduate from the Junior Flight Academy. The prestigious program selects students based on testimonials from their commanders. Training starts by teaching students the basics of flight and ends with each cadet single-handedly piloting a plane. “I had been in a plane two or three times before actually flying a plane in the program,” Steans said. “The big difference is that flying
Flying the plane is more of a personal experience than being a passenger in one. The plane I flew was a four-seater, so it was much smaller than a commercial plane that I had been on before
12 SEGUIN ~ GUADALUPE COUNTY LIVING
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