Some goals don’t come from childhood dreams. For Ms. Pamela Rutecki, an Instagram Reel was her inspiration to become a licensed pilot.

Ms. Rutecki, who arrived at SHS this fall to teach Spanish, has been soaring through the sky for over two years now while learning about every aspect of aviation, and she doesn’t plan to stop. Within the first weeks of the 2025-26 school year, Ms. Rutecki started the Future Flyers Club to bring her passion to Sharon High.

Despite its low membership, the club has big plans. “I talk to students about aviation,” Ms. Rutecki said, “and we’re trying to get the members their drone licenses, which would be really cool.” The Future Flyers meet monthly in room 2407 on Tuesdays or Wednesdays and are currently planning a trip to Norwood Memorial Airport to go planespotting. Ms. Rutecki spoke about her vision for the club: “I’m really trying to encourage more people to just take one discovery flight and see if it’s something that you want to do in your life,” she said, “for a hobby or perhaps for a job.”

A discovery flight, Ms. Rutecki explained, is a half-hour introductory flight with an instructor. She took her first one in October 2023 and “totally fell in love” with the single-engine plane, deciding to pursue her private pilot license. Now, Ms. Rutecki is working to earn an instrument rating, which would allow her to fly under a wider range of weather conditions.

The moment Ms. Rutecki leaves the ground, she’s met with a gorgeous, endless view: “It’s a really breathtaking experience, but it’s also more risky than driving a car.” Before boarding her plane, she runs through a safety checklist to ensure that she’s in good condition to fly.

Through flying, Ms. Rutecki has also discovered a close-knit community. “I wish I knew about it when I was a student,” she said, “because maybe I would have become a pilot a lot earlier, and I could have started flying around the world.”

Outside of Ms. Rutecki’s life in piloting, her primary job is teaching Spanish at SHS. Previously, she worked in the Sharon elementary schools, visiting each one to introduce students to a new language; after the program was discontinued by the School Committee last spring, Ms. Rutecki came to the high school. Ms. Rutecki shares that beyond her role as a teacher she sees flying as her future. “If I ever [stop] teaching,” she said, “I hope that I’ll be a commercial pilot… but I would really miss my students, and I also really like teaching… It will be a big decision.”