LAUREL — Addie Baker will be spending plenty of time inside the Fortin Center as a freshman on the Rocky Mountain College women’s basketball team, but her real passion is up in the skies.
In fact, the recent Park City graduate got her private pilot’s license about a month ago. But what prompted Baker to take to the air?
“I went on my first discovery flight with Aces Aviation and we went up and it was a lot of fun. I learned a lot and I knew instantly that was something I wanted to do," Baker said.
Baker was 16 when she became hooked on the thought of becoming a pilot, something that her and her father CJ decided to attack together. Not a bad idea considering the workload outside of their everyday responsibilities.
“We both studied together. Addie's co-workers really pushed her at work. They made her study at work and were always asking questions. She'd come home and we'd quiz each other," CJ said.
“It was a lot of work," Addie said. "Most people can get it done pretty fast. I was taking breaks during the winter because I was still in high school doing sports at the time. It took a lot of time, especially notecards."
Addie says her goal is to fly up in Alaska in some capacity, but she’s got plenty on her plate for the time being. Being a part of the aviation program at Rocky as well as the hoops team will keep her schedule loaded.
“It'll be a little hard, but I'm used to balancing multiple things at once. I've had to do it a lot," Addie said. "I feel like I really can, and I know Rocky is really helpful and they'll help find a way to balance everything, too."
An added perk for CJ? He can eliminate some of the time and hassle associated with driving by flying to and from Addie’s basketball games. And when it works out, he can sit back and relax while his daughter takes control.
