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.
The experience made his desire to become a pilot even stronger, and today, he flies the CRJ 200, 700, and 900. "I just want everyone to know if you think about something, and you love doing it, chase it," Lickteig-Carter says. "Chase it until you run out of gas."
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