This college freshman will have more than your average amount of summer stories to tell her friends. On Tuesday August 12, Keeley Jones earned her private pilot certificate, just in time for her first semester at the University of Georgia.

From childhood, aviation was just a part of her life. She would often go for rides with a family friend who owned a helicopter and was also friends with the family of Georgia aviation icon and first aviator, Ben Epps. As she grew, so to did her involvement in the field. During high school, she was employed at Epps Aviation FBO at PDK as a Customer Service Representative, and began flying at a local flight school in the summer of 2007. With more flexible scheduling offered by American Flyers, Keeley changed schools and went on to earn her certificate, saying the check ride was “wonderful.”

Currently, Keeley is a business major, but has not yet made up her mind. However, she does know what career she wants to pursue, saying, “I would love to get into corporate flying.” And while she may only be moving into college for her first term, it won’t be long before she is ready to go.