PORT ANGELES — Jodie Jones cruised the Western Washington air in a helicopter for the first time Friday morning.
But more flights in the 18-year-old’s future are not just lofty goals.
Jones, a senior at Port Angeles High School, has been accepted to the highly competitive U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., and is considering attending the school next fall.
“I am interested in law and being a lawyer,” and studying business, she said Friday.
“But maybe a helicopter pilot would be kind of cool.”
As a perk of being accepted to the academy, Jones was invited to fly on a routine helicopter mission with Coast Guard pilots Lt. Cmdr. Todd Coggeshall and Lt. j.g. Terry Kindness.
Jones donned an orange flightsuit before the trio navigated from the Port Angeles station on Ediz Hook over Port Townsend, past the Space Needle in Seattle and on to Tacoma.
They circled boats in Puget Sound, checking for emergencies or violations, before returning.
“She was kind of on the ride-along program,” Coggeshall said.
————-
The rest of the story appears in the Sunday Peninsula Daily News. Click on SUBSCRIBE at the top of this page to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.