SHERIDAN — It didn’t take long for Samantha Eliason to get hooked. While she had started thinking about flying a few years ago, on her first discovery flight with Sheridan Pilots 307, she knew.

“I fell in love,” Eliason said. “It was amazing.”

The discovery flight allowed Eliason to receive an introduction to flying, cruising over the Bighorn Mountains and getting a sense for what navigating your own flight entails. Now her goal is to complete her private pilot’s license before she graduates from high school in the spring. 

She’s been accruing flight time with Sheridan Pilots 307 lead certified flight instructor Bryan Belus and has even completed her first solo flight.

She balances her training as a pilot with other extracurricular activities through school and schoolwork itself.

As the cost of flight lessons increased, though, Eliason found herself in need of some extra cash. So over the summer, Eliason began working for Sheridan Pilots 307, running social media for the small business. 

“As I started doing that, I just found more and more I wanted to do to help them grow,” Eliason said.

A little extra cash turned into an internship through school this fall, and now Eliason has helped plan events for the company, manages merchandise and still ensures the social media pages are active and recruiting new customers. 

Many Sheridan High School students participate in internships throughout the school year in career fields that interest them. One goal of the internship programs is to allow students to try out different avenues before choosing a path for college or jobs after high school.

All of the marketing skills Eliason is using fit into what she hopes to eventually do for a career. She plans to study business and finance in college with the long-term goal of owning her own charter company.

“I don’t want to become like a pilot for some big commercial company,” Eliason said. “I just see so many opportunities on the private side of things.”

Between her internship and logging flight hours, Eliason has started checking requirements for her pilot’s license off her list and is on track to earn that license by the end of the school year. 

While many parents worry when their children begin driving, Eliason said her parents have supported her dream to fly.

“For my first solo flight, my mom was crying and super cute — believed in me — but was emotional,” Eliason said. “I imagine it’s a lot thinking about your daughter being in control of an airplane. But the cool thing and scary thing about flying is that you have your life in your hands. It’s up to me, there is no one there to back me up, which is super cool. But I imagine parents probably freak out.”