His Make-a-Wish dream was to fly a plane, and 15 years later, this man is a pilot

An airplane and the setting sun.
(Image credit: Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images)

As a pilot for Skywest Airlines, Anthony Lickteig-Carter now flies over his childhood home in Minneapolis, where he used to dream about being a pilot.

"I can't remember not wanting to be a pilot," he told WCCO. "I came out with aviators on, ready to rock and roll." Lickteig-Carter, 29, was born with gastroschisis, meaning his stomach was outside of his body. He had to have multiple surgeries as a child, and after having his final one in 2001, the Make-a-Wish Foundation put him and his family on a plane; they flew to Milwaukee in first class, and Lickteig-Carter was given a pilot's uniform to wear, made an announcement over the loudspeaker, and was able to chat with the pilots and walk around the plane with them. "It was probably the happiest time of my childhood, right there," he said.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.