Scott Dickson ’77

When Scott Dickson ’77 arrived on campus to study piano, organ, and French, he already had a latent desire to fly planes.

“I would look up in the sky and see contrails, feel inspired, and wonder if there might be a way through all the studies to do that,” he says. “And today I am.”

The pursuit took years of perseverance, beginning with a raffle on the Orange Carpet, where he paid $50 for two flying lessons. Meanwhile, he discovered an interest in computers through the IBM 1400 series in Cole Library and encouragement from Professor Richard Jacob.

That led to 25 years working in computer programming and network engineering, all while continuing to fly and studying for a variety of licenses. He landed a cargo jet pilot job in 1999 and now flies a B767 out of Miami to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Latin and South America. Dickson still plays piano whenever he has a chance, and substituted as a church organist for more than 20 years. He commutes on weekends to Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and sings with the Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church choir.

To see photos and essays about his experiences, including relief flights to Haiti, go to www.dicksonconsulting.net/stories