AKRON – It started when Dante Williams was 6 years old. He spotted a flight simulation game in a store and convinced his mother to buy it.

Williams was hooked. After high school, he joined the army, where he worked on helicopters.

“It was the first initial push to let me know this was the career I wanted,” Williams said of his service in the military.

He continued this career at Walsh University and the American Winds College of Aeronautics as the first student in a bachelor’s degree program developed by the schools. Walsh and American Winds officially signed the partnership during a program Wednesday at Akron Fulton Airport.

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The accelerated program leads to a Bachelor of Science in Professional Aviation.

American Winds offers three associate degrees in aviation. In the new program, a student will earn a certified pilot’s license and earn an associate’s degree in two years at American Winds, then work two years to complete the bachelor’s degree at Walsh.

Commercial airlines and other employers now prefer pilot applicants with a bachelor’s degree.

Williams, a Cleveland native, is halfway through her first semester at Walsh. He is also about to complete the program at American Winds.

Program addresses pilot shortage

Denise Hobart, president of American Winds, said development work on the program began last year after Walsh University President Tim Collins began flying from Akron Fulton Airport.

Hobart and Collins said the program would solve the growing shortage of airline and commercial pilots. The airline industry is expected to grow 13% over the next decade, which would mean 14,500 pilot openings each year, according to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

The pilot shortage has been building for some time, Hobart said, which is why she opened American Winds 20 years ago. American Winds has been an independent flight school for seven years.

Collins has been a flight instructor since 1980 and served 23 years in the Air Force after graduating from the US Air Force Academy.

Because pilots are developing the program, it should be better than programs offered at other universities, Hobart said. The partnership offers the opportunity to accelerate training with fewer flight hours required and less expense, she said.

The program allows students to take face-to-face or online academic courses. They get flight training through American Winds, which offers daily access to flight training, full-time instructors, and online scheduling.

Walsh will offer 21 general education credits for the Associate of Aviation degree. It may also be possible for students to gain an aviation qualification at Walsh.

Collins said forming a partnership with a strong company such as American Winds aligns with Walsh University’s vision and mission.

“We can do something that no one else is doing,” Collins said of the new program.

Once he completes the program, Williams plans to pursue pilot work with a cargo carrier. Progressing through the flight training program has been rewarding, he said.

“I realize my childhood dream,” he said.