Shoot for the sky: Wisconsin man takes flight thanks to a unique internship
CBS 58 WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- For one young man, the sky has never just been something to look at. It’s been a dream just out of reach. Until now.
If you spend enough time around airplanes, you notice the little things.
“Warm chocolate chip cookies and like, the leather seats, 2 x 2 configuration, not like airplanes you see nowadays when they have three across,” said Mason Masino.
Twenty-three-year-old Masino notices all of it.
“I wore this jacket, specifically, to show that this is what an actual pilot would -- used to wear when they'd go up on a plane,” said Masino.
“He’s come in -- I think that’s his second or third aviation jacket he's come in with,” said Kurt Stanich, Waukesha County Airport manager.
Masino is an intern at the Waukesha County Airport with Journey21, a program where the sky is the limit.
“We are a nonprofit organization, also like a college for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” said Masino.
On Wednesday afternoon, Masino got to trade the ground for the clouds, spending about 20 minutes in the air during a flight experience arranged through his internship.
“I don’t know how to explain it, but like, I am so excited that I’m just so grateful and blessed,” said Masino.
Up in the air, the world looks different.
“It offers them a different view of the world that they may not have had the opportunity to experience otherwise,” said Stanich.
For Masino, this seat in the cockpit is a dream that’s no longer just on the horizon.
“Travel the skies and explore this amazing special day here today,” said Masino.
Masino will graduate from Journey21 in June and hopes to work at an airport.
