Gwinnett County flight school makes history while expanding access to aviation careers

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — A flight school in Gwinnett County is making history while helping open doors to high-paying careers in aviation. 

Lookup Flight Academy is the first Black-owned flight school in the county, and its mission is to train the next generation of pilots while increasing diversity in an industry where representation has long been lacking.  

Women and people of color remain significantly underrepresented in aviation, comprising only a small share of professional pilots nationwide. For many aspiring aviators, the high cost of flight training has been a significant barrier to entry.  Many classes at a university cost thousands of dollars each, in addition to regular tuition.

Lookup Flight Academy aims to change that narrative. So far, Lookup Flight Academy has graduated 110 students. The school’s long-term goal is to graduate 1,000 pilots and aviation professionals. To help reach that milestone, the academy has pledged $1 million in scholarships through 2026 to help reduce costs for new students.

For student Urian Booze, the journey to the cockpit began years ago. She started her aviation career in 2011 as a flight attendant with Omni Air International, flying international routes that sparked her curiosity about becoming a pilot.

“Just being in the air all the time on those international flights, I got really curious about becoming a pilot,” Booze said. 

Now enrolled at Lookup Flight Academy, Booze is focused on changing the industry’s face. “I feel like the sky is for everybody, so it shouldn’t be gatekept just for one certain demographic,” she said.

Lookup Flight Academy founder Michael Ojo has built a strong following by documenting his own journey into aviation, including becoming a pilot and building aircraft. 

He says many people don’t realize aviation careers are within reach. 

“There’s a lot of us who have no idea that this world exists,” Ojo said. “That was the motivating factor to actually push this forward.”

The academy prepares students for careers as commercial pilots and aviation technicians — professions that can lead to life-changing salaries. 

The mission also spans generations, including teenagers like Caelin Wilson, a 17-year-old student who works full-time at Chick-fil-A to pay for his flight training. 

“They’re like, ‘Wow, you’re 17 years old. You’re a Black man. You’re in a plane,” Wilson said.