Riding the WAVE of the Future

A new Aviation course offered this year is taking off in the Upper School, introducing St. Agnes students to the concepts and skills behind becoming a certified pilot.

For the 2025-2026 school year, St. Agnes has partnered with Christian Brothers High School to establish the Women in Aviation (WAVE) program, allowing our students to complete an Aviation I class on the CBHS campus. Seven SAA students piloted the first year of the program.

“We chose to offer Aviation to our students in partnership with CBHS to provide our students meaningful exposure to the field of Aviation and to give them the opportunity to explore Aviation as a potential career while still in high school. We were fortunate to join the Women in Aviation (WAVE) program at CBHS, which is currently only open to SAA students,” explained Dean Heather Valdez.

Aviation I is year one of a two-year course of study for becoming a private pilot. This class exposes students to airplane systems, aerodynamic principles, the flight environment, communications, and flight information--academic material needed for Private Pilot Certification. It also includes labs (flight simulators) that are used to instruct the student on how to perform all the basic flight maneuvers included on the Private Pilot flight test.

SAA students attend classes at CBHS every Monday and Wednesday from 4:00–5:30 p.m. where they have access to flight simulators and hands-on learning experiences. The seven students participating in the program are eager to continue into Aviation 2 next year, depending on schedule availability.

Current Aviation I student, Elizabeth Castelan (’29) shared, “I decided to take Aviation 1 so that I could learn about aviation principles and practice simulations before committing to a university or flight school. My favorite thing about the course so far is the flight simulators which give us the ability to learn about the controls and practice flying.” Elizabeth plans to continue her studies in Aviation II next year.

Fellow student Lila Grace Valdez (’29) also plans to continue in the program next year. She explained, “I thought taking Aviation I would be a new, fun experience-something I had never done before. My favorite thing about the class so far would have to be the simulators, especially the lesson of taking off. Also, our instructor Mr. Calvert is a wonderful teacher! He makes it fun and interesting.” 

Aviation II is the next step toward becoming a private pilot. It includes meteorology for pilots, interpreting weather, airplane performance, navigation, aviation physiology, human factors, and cross-country flight. At the end of this course, the students will have been instructed in the material necessary to become a Certificated Private Pilot.