Eight years after graduating at the top of her class at Seagoville High School, Mikaela Morris has turned an interest in business and marketing into a career helping prospective students pursue opportunities in aviation.
Morris, the valedictorian of Seagoville High School’s Class of 2018, went on to attend the University of Texas at Dallas and study marketing through the university’s Naveen Jindal School of Management. Today, she works in sales management with the Thrust Flight organization in the Dallas area.
At the Top of the SHS Class
Dallas ISD recognized Morris as Seagoville High School’s 2018 valedictorian ahead of commencement ceremonies that spring.
At the time, Morris planned to attend the University of Texas at Dallas and major in business.
She followed through on the move to UT Dallas, enrolling in the Naveen Jindal School of Management and pursuing marketing as her field of study.
Building Marketing Experience at UT Dallas
While attending UT Dallas, Morris began gaining professional experience outside the classroom.
In 2021, she worked as an intern with Social Strategy1, where her responsibilities included developing and scheduling content for social-media platforms.
Morris described working with Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn campaigns while learning tools including Canva, Photoshop and Hootsuite.
The internship also required her to balance full-time college coursework with a part-time job and professional responsibilities.
As she approached graduation, Morris wrote that the experience had increased her interest in digital marketing and given her practical experience creating content for clients and managing projects on deadline.
From Marketing to Aviation
Morris eventually brought her business and marketing background into the aviation-training industry.
Her professional profile lists Thrust Flight in Addison as part of her career beginning in 2023, initially connecting her work with marketing and admissions.
The company provides flight training for students pursuing private, commercial and professional aviation careers.
Morris’s work developed into sales management, placing her in a role that combines communication, customer service and business development with helping prospective students navigate aviation-training opportunities.
Her current professional profile describes her as passionate about helping students begin aviation careers.
A Business Career Takes Flight
The career path Morris has followed closely resembles the direction she outlined while leaving Seagoville High School.
The 2018 valedictorian entered UT Dallas intending to pursue business, developed a specialization in marketing, gained hands-on digital-marketing experience while still a student and ultimately carried those skills into the aviation industry.
For current Seagoville High School students, Morris provides an example of how an academic plan made at graduation can evolve into a specialized career that may not have been obvious when that journey began.
Eight years after representing SHS as its valedictorian, Mikaela Morris is now using the business and marketing foundation she began building after graduation to help others prepare for careers of their own.
