UTC’s Cali Crum-Beigh soaring beyond the classroom

UTC junior Cali Crum stands with the airplane that she flies. Photo by Angela Foster.

UTC junior Cali Crum-Beigh stands with the airplane that she flies. Photo by Angela Foster.

Cali Crum-Beigh, a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior, isn’t just focused on getting a business degree—she has her eyes set on the sky.

The business management major and UTC orientation leader is a licensed private pilot and is in the process of following her dream of being a commercial airline pilot.

Her interest in flying stemmed from her uncle, Marcus Fuller—a Chattanooga resident with a passion for general aviation.

“He would pick me up in Indiana and fly me here to visit,” said Crum-Beigh, who grew up in Alexandria, Indiana. “That’s what did it. I didn’t realize until later that this was what I wanted to do. I always enjoyed it, but I never even thought it was possible to make it a career until he said, ‘Come down and let’s go on a little flight.’ He let me have the controls and just feel it.”

Crum-Beigh’s uncle encouraged her to pursue her private license the summer before her first year of college.

“I love the adventure part of it,” Crum-Beigh said. “I have a few components that are my favorite part … and the independence it gives you is unmatched. I was in Alabama this morning and just got back from a flight.

“I fly home a lot. I’m actually flying home tomorrow; it’s about three hours compared to the eight-hour drive. It’s the unmatched freedom, the adventure and the travel. I love to travel and to be able to pop over here or there. The ability to go over to Alabama and get some lunch—it’s just super fun.”

Crum-Beigh began her college career at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where she majored in professional flight. The summer before her first day at that university, she obtained her private pilot’s license—completing it in a record seven weeks at Chattanooga’s Hixson Aviation.

“It was crackdown time,” Crum-Beigh said. “It was definitely a long summer, but I did it in seven weeks. Every day at the airport two or three times a day. A lot of ground sessions. Sometimes, I would listen in on other students’ lessons, just anything I could to speed up the process.

“I needed 40 total hours. I ended up having more than that because that summer, I was flying every day because of the deadline. I had eight weeks to get from zero hours to having my license. I had eight weeks, and then I had to be at Purdue.”

Cali Crum-Beigh is a business management major and orientation leader at UTC.

After a semester at Purdue, Crum-Beigh decided that the program wasn’t what she was looking for in her college experience.

She didn’t have to search far for the school she wanted to attend as it was only a few hours away by plane. Crum-Beigh said UTC was the obvious choice because of her proximity to the flight school and extended family.

“I loved the area because I spent the previous summer here,” she said. “I immediately loved the community and the city. Everyone was super welcoming and excited that I was here. I just felt very welcomed and that this was my fit. I felt that pressure kind of relieved.”

Crum-Beigh said she switched majors to diversify herself. Having her private pilot’s license, eventual commercial license and a management degree gives her options in the future.

“I wanted to be able to go and meet people,” Crum-Beigh explained, “and have the original college experience while doing something that I love. It’s brought me that ability and the community that I was seeking.”

Wanting to connect with the UTC community while living off campus and balancing her focus on flying, Crum-Beigh decided to become an orientation leader.

“I had a good experience with my orientation and kind of wanted to give back in that way,” Crum-Beigh said. “I love it. I love telling people about it, and I get asked a lot, ‘Why did you transfer?’ It’s a long story but it gives me a chance to relate to people that are far from home.”

Crum-Beigh is currently working on her commercial license, which requires multiple credentials before she can fly passengers commercially. In the meantime, she will continue building her community at UTC.

“At my first orientation session, I went to Crossroads (dining hall) collecting people who didn’t know where they should sit,” she said. “I sat next to this guy who was doing the exact same thing as me. He’s in management and studying at the flight school next to mine. I thought it was crazy.

“Being an orientation leader living off campus has made me talk to at least one person in all of my classes, trying to build my own community. It’s been a great place to do that.”