DURANT, Okla. (KTEN) — Texoma area high school students were welcomed to Southeastern Oklahoma State University on Friday to get an inside look at its aviation program. 

The day is designed to ease the nerves of new students as they start their careers in the sky.

"Even if you just want to come out and see what it's all about, it's definitely something you can take advantage of," said Jacob McLarry, SOSU sophomore aviation student. "There are times where the winds are a little too high and you're like — holy crap, that scared me a little bit, not gonna lie — but it just goes back down to the basics they teach you in private pilot... just fly the plane."

Senior Rylee Gosnell, who attended the event, discovered aviation at SOSU through a class at Durant High School, and knew her heart belonged in the sky.

"Some seniors can choose aviation and see if they like it before they go to college," she said. "I first started out wanting to do engineering, and then I chose flying instead."

Other students, like Chase Caraway, have been around planes their entire lives.

"My brother, so he went to the Air Force and graduated from the Air Force Academy," Caraway said. "So that just kind of led me down that way."

The high schoolers also heard from potential classmates who already have flying experience in the program and are ready to answer questions on a peer-to-peer level.

Tatiana Beach is a senior and aviation ambassador at SOSU. She hopes to inspire younger students to want to join the program.

"This is a super important event for folks who don't really know about the aviation community to come out here and ask questions that they don't normally get to ask," said Beach. "So it's a really good one-on-one time with these students."