Gwinnett commissioners last week approved a 25-year lease for a pilot school in Gwinnett to operate at Gwinnett County Airport, Briscoe Field. Lookup Flight Academy, LLC, the highest-scoring firm in a competitive bid process, was selected to lease a 2.3-acre site with hangar building and ramp. It is a minority (Black) owned firm.
The flight school provides comprehensive pilot training but also aims to address the under-representation of minority pilots in both private and commercial aviation.
The school, founded by aviator and entrepreneur Michael Ojo, aims to empower young people with the knowledge and skills to pursue careers in aviation. With a focus on mentorship and hands-on training, the institution seeks to cultivate a new generation of pilots who reflect the diverse makeup of society.
Ojo says: “Pilotage demands doing the hard thing, regardless of gender or wealth. It requires equal attention from all, as your life and future hinge on it. Embrace the challenge!”
Lookup Flight Academy, LLC, will renovate its hangar facility at Briscoe Field to enhance the learning environment. The school is expected to be fully operational and open to aspiring aviators by the summer of 2024.
New park near Lawrenceville will be county’s 53rd
Discovery Park will become the 53rd park in the Gwinnett’s parks system, following award of a $28.5 million contract to Vertical Earth, Inc. of Cumming. Located on nearly 45 acres at the intersection of Old Norcross and Lawrenceville-Suwanee roads, the SPLOST-funded park will have a multipurpose synthetic turf field, interactive fountain, playground, sports court complex and 1.5-mile lighted and paved multipurpose trail. Construction is expected to take 24 months, with the park opening in 2026.
Brown beats odds to graduate from GGC
Brown. Photo provided.
It’s been a long, uphill road, but Georgia Gwinnett College history graduate Nicholas Brown is about to reach a lifetime milestone. A native of Duluth, Brown has been overcoming challenges most never face since he was old enough to walk.
In 1998, when he was just three-and-a-half, he and his father were on their way home from a trip to the grocery store when their car was T-boned by another that blew through a red light going 55 miles an hour. Brown was knocked unconscious and nearly died from his injuries twice.
He spent two weeks in the ICU fighting for his life, then more than four weeks in the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Scottish Rite Hospital learning how to swallow, walk and talk again. From there it was two years in outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapies that continued until he graduated from Northview High School.
In short, Brown has spent his entire life recovering from injuries.
He explains: “I have multiple health issues, including traumatic brain injury, type one diabetes and post-traumatic stress disorder.” Brown, who will turn 29 just before he graduates, adds: “Because of these challenges, it has taken me longer to complete my degree, but I have worked hard to get to where I am today.”
Brown will receive a bachelor’s degree in history, with a concentration in United States history, and minors in business administration and geography at GGC’s commencement ceremony on May 9. He says he picked that field of study because history speaks to him.
“I enjoy stories,” he says. “And I understand history best of all the fields I’ve studied.”
Brown says he chose GGC partly because it’s affordable and he could live at his home in Johns Creek while earning his degree, but the main reason is more personal. “I feel like I can be myself here,” he says. His first visit to the GGC campus is among his favorite memories. “I first came to the campus in 2014 for a tour. I knew then that it would be my choice because it made me smile. My mom told me, ‘I don’t care if it takes you 10 years to get your college degree. If this is where you want to go, I will support you.’” That was exactly 10 years ago.
Brown was determined not to coast. Instead, he pushed through his challenges and immersed himself in the GGC experience, becoming a key player in multiple student groups. He joined GGC’s Gamma Theta Upsilon International Geographical Honor Society and GGC’s Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society. He says presenting at GGC’s CREATE Symposium, which celebrates undergraduate research, scholarship and creativity, was particularly fulfilling.
“My presentation was about the Snail Darter and the Tennessee Valley Authority legal case in 1978,” he recalls. “I’m still quite proud of it.”
Brown also works at the college library, helping students and faculty find materials and resources. “This has taught me many valuable skills that I have been able to apply to myself currently and will be able to use in the future,” Brown says. After graduating, Brown plans to work on a master’s degree in library and information science at Valdosta State University.
Brown will be among more than 900 students who will graduate at GGC’s spring 2024 commencement, taking place at 10 a.m. May 9 at Gas South District in Duluth.
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