Two Tipton County high school students signed their names Monday the way athletes do on college signing day: at a table, in front of family, with cameras clicking.

Only these signatures were for flight school.

Dalton Goode of Brighton High School and Mills Beasley of Covington High School each received a $20,000 scholarship to attend Tennessee Flight Training in Millington, where they will work toward their private pilot licenses. They are the first Tipton County Schools students to receive the scholarships.

Both high schools launched aviation programs at the start of the 2026-27 school year. The scholarships are funded through the state’s Innovative School Models grant, according to Dr. Yolanda Jones, the district’s 6-12 chief academic officer, who led the ceremony.

“Aviation is an exciting field with opportunities that extend beyond the cockpit,” Jones said, listing science, engineering, aircraft maintenance and aviation management among the career paths it opens.

She credited Superintendent Dr. Rebekah Byrd for pushing the district to expand student pathways.

‘Their future is absolutely paved with gold’

Chris Erlanson, president and owner of Tennessee Flight Training, never planned on a career in aviation. He spent 23 years in the Nashville music industry as a producer, manager and record company executive and took up flying as a hobby. In 2010, he helped some friends start a flight school as a side venture. By 2014, it had become one of the fastest-growing flight schools in the country, and he had left the music business behind.

The Nashville-based school has been named to the Flight Training Excellence Awards honor roll for the past 10 years, Jones said.

Erlanson told the crowd the timing for young pilots could not be better.

“When I get to talk about young people entering aviation, it becomes even more exciting. And let me tell you why: Their future is absolutely paved with gold,” he said. “The pilot shortage is real and it’s here right now today.”

He said Boeing has projected the industry will need more than 600,000 new pilots over the next 20 years as pilots who served in Vietnam and Desert Storm retire. That works out to about 32,000 pilots a year, or about 85 a day, he said.

“We need pilots, and I am absolutely thrilled that we have the opportunity to partner with Tipton County Schools,” Erlanson said.

Then he turned to the students and gave them the hard part.

“I’m going to be very honest and very upfront, and I’m going to tell you this is going to be one of the hardest things you’ve ever done in your life,” he said. “That’s really encouraging, isn’t it?”

He explained why with a comparison most people in the room could relate to.

“I think about the world that we live in today, and everything in life is Amazon,” Erlanson said. “You want something? Pull out your phone, hit a couple of buttons, it’s delivered to you. You want a movie? Pull out your phone, hit a couple of buttons, it’s delivered to you.”

But you can’t get everything through Amazon, he said.

“Every day I get up and I log into Amazon and I look and I see, can I get my pilot’s license through Amazon?” he joked. “No. The answer is no. Amazon does not deliver your pilot’s license to you.”

A license has to be earned, he said.

“Aviation is built on something that we call a meritocracy,” Erlanson said. “Aviation rewards your effort, your merit, the hard work that you put in. And your skill.”

“That’s the fun thing about aviation,” he said. “You actually get to see the results of your blood, sweat, and tears.”

Learning to fly also changes how you see the world, he said, and sometimes how your friends see you.

“When you start studying to get your pilot’s license, you instantly become an old man because you’re checking the weather every couple hours,” he said. “And all of a sudden, you become strange to your friends because you’re looking up at the sky while they’re down here on the ground.”

“We represent less than 1% of the population,” he said. “And we’re a strange group of people because we get to fly.”

Erlanson told the students they would not be doing it alone.

“You’re going to have an entire community of teachers. You’re going to have an entire community of aviators standing behind you and cheering you on,” he said. “Don’t stop, don’t quit, keep going, keep running. And in the end, as long as you keep going and as long as you keep working, in the very end, you’re gonna achieve the impossible.”

Ceremonies like this one weren’t around when he was in school, he said.

“Nothing like this happened back when we were going to school, right?” Erlanson said. “This is a big moment, guys.”

‘Dalton’s name moved right to the top’

Brighton High School Principal Brian Crowson said he and STEM teacher Cheryl Jacobs, who leads the school’s aviation program, knew the first scholarship recipient would set the tone for the school’s new program.

“When we looked at the list of names, of course Dalton’s name moved right to the top,” Crowson said.

He described Dalton, who is the son of Dustin and Kelsey Goode, as a leader whose faith shows up in everything he does.

“He doesn’t take credit for anything,” Crowson said. “He’ll always say, ‘That’s because of Jesus Christ.'”

Dalton started a STEM program at the Boys and Girls Club in Covington and is part of Brighton’s STEM program, as well, Crowson said. He was recently named the 2026 Great Futures Trailblazer Award winner for the Southeast Region of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Next month, he will make history as the first teenager ever selected as a Presenter at WozED’s Global Immersion Conference.

Crowson also credited Jacobs, who has spent her summer and school breaks training to lead the aviation program. When he first brought up the idea, he said, she agreed before he finished the sentence.

“Before I get out of my mouth, she’s like, I’ll do it,” he said.

‘You have all of Tipton County behind you’

Covington High School Principal Carlin McGlown, in her third year leading the school, said Beasley has a 4.156 GPA, takes dual enrollment classes, and has never had a discipline referral.

She also shared a warning she received from his grandmother, Marilyn Driggers, at a football game last year: “You better take care of my grandson.”

Mills, the son of Amy and Erik Beasley, is a junior defensive back on the Chargers football team. McGlown read a statement from J.R. Kirby, who has coached him for three years.

“His character, work ethic, and commitment to getting better will serve him well as he pursues his aviation career,” Kirby wrote.

Covington’s aviation program is led by teacher Cody Collier.

“Mills, Dalton, you have all of Tipton County behind you,” McGlown said. “If you need anything, let us know.”

Each student then signed a certificate that Jones said symbolizes his commitment to the training ahead, surrounded by family, principals, the superintendent and flight school staff.

The ceremony was held Monday afternoon at the Tipton County Board of Education on Hwy. 51 South in Covington.