A year after Tuskegee University relaunched its Aviation Science Degree Program, one of its students has made history.
Isaiah Hand, 20, earned his private pilot’s license through the new aviation program, which was reintroduced in 2024 after receiving $6.7 million in federal funding, AL.com reported.
Hand is the first student to earn his private pilot’s license in this program in nearly 80 years.
“There is no other feeling like it,” Hand said in a news release cited by AL.com. A Florida native and first-generation college student, Hand avoided summer vacation to continue training during the summer.
He now looks to complete more certifications and earn a commercial pilot’s license.
Sixteen other students are in line to earn their certifications. The aim of the program is to adequately prepare students for jobs in aviation, engineering and meteorology.
“This is exactly the kind of impact we want to have on our students,” said President Mark Brown. “One only has to look into his eyes to be clear about our purpose. Confident, excited, poised and ready to tackle the most complex problems our world has to offer.”
Hand, besides being a pilot, is a member of Tuskegee University’s Marching Crimson Pipers Band, serving as the euphonium section leader in the band.
Tuskegee is the location of the famed Tuskegee Airmen program for Black pilots in World War II. Serving at a time when the American Army was segregated, the Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American aviators in America. The 332nd Fighter Group and the 99th Pursuit Squadron were the only Black groups that fought in World War II and were considered highly successful despite facing discrimination in and out of the army.
Trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama, they flew more than 15,000 individual sorties in Europe and North Africa during World War II. Their remarkable performance did not only earn them more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses but eventually helped encourage the integration of the U.S. armed forces, according to History.
