Sumter's Next Generation, presented by CCTC: Sumter High's Caden Champagne talks soaring beyond the horizon in his pilot journey

At first glance, 17-year-old Caden Champagne may seem like your typical high school senior. Clean white button-down, cool khaki pants and some nice kicks to match. But beneath his calm outfit and jolly exterior lies a passion that reaches beyond Sumter High School and our county lines. Caden's not only thinking about graduation, but he's also thinking about altitude, lift and the exhilarating feeling of being among the clouds - a feeling he's looked forward to since childhood.

From an early age, Caden's vision was clear. With a dad who soars through the skies as pilot for Delta Airlines, aviation wasn't just a career option - it was in his blood.

"Growing up, I saw him as like a role model," he shared. "I was like, 'Dude, I got to fly when I got older.'"

With determination, Caden found himself on the path to becoming a pilot. But dreams don't take flight on their own. After getting a glimpse into aviation through the Sumter Career and Technology Center's aerospace engineering program, he took a leap of faith, one that landed him in the metaphorical cockpit of Sumter Aviation. The veteran-owned flight school provides training from private pilot all the way to airline transport pilot license - the highest level of aircraft pilot certification one can receive. Just like in high school, Caden must study the material and take notes in preparation for quizzes, tests and actual flights. From weather briefings to checking flight instruments to inspections around the plane - and that's just his checklist before hitting the runway. He runs through an entirely different checklist before actual takeoff.

"It's super safe," Caden said with a reassuring smile.

His training, which is still in the early stages after five weeks of class time, has already changed his outlook on life. The experience of flying is a mix of emotions - pride, excitement and a sense of accomplishment that can't compare to anything else.

"[On my first flight], I was the proudest I could be … I was like, 'I'm actually doing this,'" Caden recalled. "At that moment, I was like, 'This is a different world.' It's not like driving a car [where] you're looking at trees and everything; you're above the trees, you're looking at cool landmarks. Flying has definitely changed my perspective on a lot of things, and in a good way. It's everything that I was wishing it would be since I was little."

That pride felt on his first soar above the clouds fuels him to follow his dreams of one day flying to beautiful destinations for Delta, alongside his dad.

But Caden's ambitions don't stop there. While his eyes are set on commercial aviation, he's open to wherever the skies might take him, including the possibility of flying for the military.

"I would gladly take it," he expressed. "Maybe even being an astronaut - who knows?"

If young Caden, who could barely contain his smile dressed in military pilot costume, could see his teenage self now, he'd hear these words: "It's what you dreamed of. When you're flying the plane, it's what you thought it was going to be. It's that interesting, it's that fun, and you're finally here to actually begin the journey."