{"id":53972,"date":"2018-09-17T09:11:13","date_gmt":"2018-09-17T13:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=53972"},"modified":"2022-09-28T12:17:02","modified_gmt":"2022-09-28T16:17:02","slug":"flight-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2018\/09\/17\/flight-path\/","title":{"rendered":"Flight path"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mass communication student Brody Beaver has enlisted in the Air Force, is in the Ohio Air National Guard, has his private pilot\u2019s license, studies aviation history and takes photos using drones. (Photos by Erin Pence)<\/p><\/div>\n

Brody Beaver is a guided missile. Determined to become an Air Force pilot, most everything the Wright State University mass communication student<\/a> has done recently is with that in mind.<\/p>\n

Beaver, 22, has enlisted in the Air Force, earned his private pilot\u2019s license, is a member of the Ohio Air National Guard helping flight crews with logistics, has written articles on aviation history and even has his own photography business using drones.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m continuing to set myself up for success to be a pilot for the Air Force \u2014 my childhood dream,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That dream began at an early age.<\/p>\n

Beaver grew up in Grove City, Ohio. His father was in the Air Force for 21 years, working in aviation resource management systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe would tell me all of these great stories about all of his trips, deployments and the people,\u201d said Beaver. \u201cHe was deployed to Turkey. He went to France. He got to hang out with all the pilots. I just fell in love with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was when he was in seventh grade that Beaver decided he wanted to join the Air Force and become a pilot. So when he turned 17 while at Grove City High School, he enlisted, having to get a permission slip from his parents because he was under 18.<\/p>\n

Beaver plans to make a career of the Air Force.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll probably have to kick me out at 60,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n

After graduating high school in 2014, Beaver underwent military training for two years in San Antonio, Texas, and Biloxi, Mississippi.<\/p>\n

He then returned to Ohio, where he attended Sinclair College so he could earn his pilot\u2019s license. At the time, he was based in Springfield with the Ohio Air National Guard and had heard good things about Wright State. So he later transferred from Sinclair to Wright State without even taking a college visit.<\/p>\n

Beaver majored in mass communication because he enjoys talking to people and being in front of a camera.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I also understand that communication is the key to success. It doesn\u2019t matter what you do in life \u2014 communication is a must,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I think being a mass communication major has enabled me to relate to people and better understand where people come from and their backgrounds and effectively communicate with everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

While his dream is to become an Air Force pilot, Beaver believes having a mass communication degree is a great fallback.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just something I absolutely love \u2014 PR, being a DJ, being a news anchor or a journalist,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Beaver\u2019s public-speaking skills recently got him gigs as master of ceremonies for a military ball and for the Ohio Airman of the Year ceremony, attended by commanders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very honoring,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m very blessed that they would pick me. I\u2019m at the bottom of the totem pole. I just try to represent my base well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beaver says Wright State has set him up for success in communication.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy professors have been very caring, and it\u2019s genuine. They really care about my success,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are the ones referring me to the right people for these job opportunities. And they are the right mentors to help guide me. It\u2019s great to have that support system.\u201d<\/p>\n

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While his dream is to become an Air Force pilot, Beaver believes having a mass communication degree is a great fallback.<\/p><\/div>\n

Beaver has also worked with Wright State\u2019s Special Collections and Archives<\/a>, writing articles about some of the artifacts stored and displayed there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the largest Wright brothers collection in the world,\u201d he said. \u201cI would love for people to just check it out. When you\u2019re an aviation junkie, you pretty much live in the archives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beaver also recently volunteered at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, helping teach children the basics of flying in a flight simulator.<\/p>\n

In addition, he has earned his commercial drone license and started his own business called Just Drone It. He takes aerial photos and videos for real estate agents and their listings. He also does weddings and other family functions.<\/p>\n

Beaver keeps his flying skills sharp by renting airplanes and flying around the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take my family and friends flying,\u201d he said. \u201cI like to fly to places that have good food. We go to Urbana for pie. We go to Columbus for barbecue. And we go to Cincinnati for hot dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beaver is a busy guy. So what does he do to relax? No surprise there. He goes flying.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very therapeutic,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s just being able to defy gravity and having a bird\u2019s-eye view of everything. It\u2019s an adrenaline rush. There is no greater thrill than flying an airplane yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mass communication student Brody Beaver has enlisted in the Air Force, is in the Ohio Air National Guard, has his private pilot\u2019s license, studies aviation history and takes photos using drones. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":53979,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,747,2039,715,4855,4298],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-liberal-arts","category-military-veterans","category-news","category-social-sciences-and-international-studies","category-student-profile"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53972"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53993,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53972\/revisions\/53993"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}