First Generation Pilots
Our Story
First Generation Pilots (FGP) is an organization of pilots who have little to no aviation background in their family, aiming to pursue aviation careers. Founded in 2025 by a group of college students at the University of North Dakota, FGP aims to build a community where access to advice, networks, and trusted guidance is within reach.
Our mission is to inspire and assist first-generation pilots in achieving their aviation goals by providing education, mentorship, scholarship, and professional development opportunities. By building an inclusive and supportive community, we help aspiring pilots build the knowledge, confidence, and connections needed to move forward in their careers.
The First Generation Pilots (FGP) nonprofit was founded in December 2025 by a group of college students at the University of North Dakota. Originally a student-led organization on campus founded in 2024, its success was what guided the eyes of its founders to a new vision—growing it on a national scale. And it all began with one idea.
It was an ordinary Wednesday on October 4th, 2023. Fall was in full swing, campus bustling with students, and many making their way to the UND Aerospace Safety Seminar. Every semester, UND Aerospace hosts a safety meeting with approximately 2,000 flight students, where safety topics and trends are presented. It was at this event where it all began.
Lucas de Jager and Augustas Senuta were good acquaintances at the time, both in their junior year. Arriving in advance of the event, Lucas and Gus took their seats and started chatting away. At the time, Lucas had just begun his Commercial Pilot training, and Gus, his Certified Flight Instructor training.
It wasn’t until they began asking one another about their beginnings in aviation that they became acutely aware of something—neither had any aviation background in their family. This sparked an intense connection and raised the question, “How can we help others with no background succeed?” Lucas shared his idea of founding a student organization, and after some brainstorming, First Generation Pilots was born.
In the fall of 2024, Lucas and Gus worked hard at drafting the constitution and enlisting their peers. Founding officers alongside Lucas and Gus included Tyler Svrusis, Neil Kotzenmacher, and Logan Laier. Lucas served as the President, Gus as Vice President, Tyler as Treasurer, Neil as Secretary, and Logan as Social Media Coordinator. After documents received approval and plans were finalized, the officers held the first meeting of the FGP student organization on October 16th, 2024, with approximately 30 students in attendance. Throughout the year, they hosted countless guest speakers from UND Aerospace faculty, Southwest Airlines, NetJets, Delta Air Lines, and more. They also hosted aviation-oriented LinkedIn and Resume Prep sessions, and led their very first field trip—a tour of the Sun Country Airlines Headquarters.
In the spring of 2025, the student organization announced a five-year $5,000 scholarship fund, thanks to the support of Samantha Ross, a UND Aerospace Professor, and Jonathon Ross, her husband and a Delta Air Lines first officer. The scholarship granted $1,000 annually to a deserving member of the FGP student organization. Today, the Jonathon and Samantha Ross First Generation Pilots Scholarship fund has doubled, awarding two students each $1,000 annually, until 2030. The first award was presented to Lucas for his hard work and dedication to the founding and growth of FGP. By the end of the first year, the FGP student organization had grown to a total of 270 students, earning its place as one of the largest student organizations on UND campus.
At the tail end of spring 2024, Lucas attended a meeting Gus was running for another student organization. This organization was called the Flying Musicians Association, a collegiate chapter of the national FMA organization operating as a nonprofit. After a brief introduction to the national nonprofit, Lucas had a defining realization—to grow the vision of FGP into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and establish the student organization as its first chapter. After sharing this idea with Gus, the two got to work. Alongside Logan and Tyler, and with help from their professional network, First Generation Pilots was born again with a bigger and bolder mission.
Today, the four of them serve on the Board of Directors. Every meeting, the vision of building a network of chapters, finding mentors, and awarding scholarships for first-generation pilots excites them. Deeply rooted is their commitment to the success and growth of FGP, alongside the organization’s core values—Fiscal Responsibility, Integrity, Diversity, Dependability, and Servant Leadership. United under one mission, they aim to inspire and assist first-generation pilots in achieving their aviation goals by providing education, mentorship, scholarship, and professional development opportunities.
