Aurora University student earns FAA drone pilot license after taking course

Chicago Tribune

20-07-2025

As technologies emerge, college courses are springing up to teach them – something that Alayna Nosalik, a student at Aurora University, knows after becoming the first AU student to earn an FAA Drone Pilot License.
Nosalik, 20, of Mendota, is set to graduate next year with a double major in marketing and communications. She said the drone license, which she earned after completing the university's new FAA Drone License Examination Prep Course, was something she was drawn to after learning it was being taught by a previous instructor she had enjoyed. The new course goes in-depth in preparing students to earn their FAA Drone Pilot License.
'The drone class that was being offered – I had Dr. [Christopher] Wells for a previous class. I liked him as an instructor, and it sounded like a cool class and I thought – why not?' Nosalik
said.
'I was also part of PREMSA, the PR and Event Management student association on campus, and we had gotten someone who did fly drones for marketing for a living so I had seen what you can do with them and it looked like it might be a fun experience.'
Wells, 63, of Belvidere, who currently serves as professor of parks and recreation leadership, said the course has been offered for just a year at AU and that it 'is still in the catching-on stage where it's not tied to any particular major.'
'I teach parks and rec so I started the course primarily for those students so they could use a drone to assess parks and do surveying and those sorts of things, but students in the criminal
justice program are also showing interest in the course,' Well said.
'Law enforcement officers and first responders are using drones in their work.'
Wells spoke about Nosalik and his impressions of her as a student, noting 'I first had her in an interdisciplinary studies course.'
'It's a first-year student course called 'Discover What Matters' and it introduces students to college and helps them develop a sense of what they want to do with their major,' he said. 'I met
her [Nosalik] in that course, and introduced the drone as just kind of an extra topic. Alayna definitely saw it was something that she might be able to apply in marketing and communications.
'When I first offered the drone course, she was one of the first to sign up for it – she definitely took to it and I think she sees the potential for drones in her work and was the first AU student to get her license,' Wells added.
Wells acknowledges technology is, in fact, driving some of the curriculum these days.
'Definitely – we have to keep up with the tech and prepare the students to be able to use that tech in their careers,' he said.
Nosalik says there is no pressure being the first to own a license and said there has been some additional interest shown from other friends 'who have reached out.'
'They've said, 'Oh, that's so cool – I didn't know AU offered this' and I told them about the class,' she said. 'A lot of people have actually asked about it and I'm hoping a lot more people will take it and have an interest in it.'
In yet another turn on the road not taken, Nosalik made a detour earlier in her college career and stepped away from her course work at AU in order to take the Disney College Program, a paid
internship that she attended at Walt Disney World in Florida.
'I think it would be really cool to work in marketing or coordinating events for Disney one day – I've always been a fan of Disney and wanted to go down and be a part of the program,' she said.
'I think it was second semester my freshman year. I was in my advisor's office and was asking how could I move my schedule around so I can have an entire semester free and she said we
could figure that out.'
In the end, Nosalik was one of just 10 individuals selected to be in the program and said her greatest takeaway 'was that I still want to work for Disney – it's one of my goals.'
'You never know if you're going to get tired going to parks or don't like the work anymore but every day there was so much fun going to work and some of my best friends were there,' she
said.
Wells said there are two ways the FAA allows people to fly drones – recreationally and for professional purposes, from surveillance work compiling statistics.
His course description notes that 'Drones (unmanned aircraft systems) are increasingly used in a wide range of careers to accomplish things such as gather pictures and videos, collect
environmental data, and assist first responders in managing complex situations. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) remote pilot license is required to fly a drone professionally.'
'The enforcement of this – the analogy I use is how to people enforce things like auto insurance– it's usually when you're caught,' he said. 'You get caught and have to show insurance. With work, it's obvious you're out working. I have a friend who sprays fields with a drone and he's constantly stopped by people driving by asking how do you do this – do you have a license?
Nosalik also reflected on her drone license and acknowledged that while there are lot of kids as well as adults flying drones on weekends, her certification brings with it other caveats.
'With the license, you can start to fly in different places and have the ability to do more because you can put in requests to fly in different places, whereas if you're flying for fun – you have to stay below a certain height,' she said.
Nosalik said her parents have been very supportive of her choices.
'My dad is really big on trying new things and getting my brother and I to try things and experience things and open opportunities for yourselves,' she said.