Tayvon Snowden speaks rapidly and excitedly about anything concerning aviation.

Tail winds. Head winds. Airplane performance charts. The terminology flows easily and energetically as he discusses his desire to someday own a charter airline, after first becoming a test pilot for airplane manufacturers.

“I have several friends, and we just get on the phone and literally talk for hours about aviation,” he says. “I’ve always been interested in technical things, and I’ve always been fascinated with planes and cars—all my life.”

At 17 years of age, Snowden already appears to be on a clear path for making his dreams reality. This past fall, he began his first semester at Georgia Perimeter College as an aerospace engineering student on GPC’s Clarkston Campus. As a Regents Engineer Transfer Program participant, he’ll head to Georgia Tech to earn his bachelor’s degree after graduating from GPC.

Further, in addition to maintaining a rigorous home-school schedule that culminated in his high school graduation this past spring, Snowden has managed to receive his student pilot certification and launch a web site and web design business to fund future aviation aspirations.

“He’s an outstanding young man,” says Julius Alexander, Snowden’s flight instructor and president of Atlanta’s Aviation Career and Enrichment Academy. “He’s going to go places, too. He has goals and objectives, and he’s mature to where he knows how to prioritize.”

Snowden has won numerous aviation and academic awards over the past several years, including invitations to attend camps at the prestigious Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and at Delta Airlines, among other programs.

Snowden cites personal drive as well as strong support from family as two of the driving forces behind his success. His mother, Queen Taese Snowden, says she always has been careful to not place limits on her children. “We don’t put them in a box,” she says. “It’s about teaching them that anything can be accomplished.”

This type of attitude fuels her son’s ambitions. “I have to give a majority of the credit for the path I’m on to my mom,” he says. “She kept me around positive people, doing positive things—people who are always displaying good character and good morals.”

It was a pair of Snowden’s cousins who, in part, led him to GPC. They were recent graduates and convinced him of the college’s academic soundness and affordability. After visiting and also learning about the program that will allow him to transfer seamlessly to Georgia Tech, Snowden says he knew Georgia Perimeter would be a good fit.

“I didn’t want to jump into anything overwhelming,” he says. “GPC offers a good transitional phase for the student.”