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Three Columbia High Students Earn FAA Part 107 Certification

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Three Columbia High School students are now licensed to fly drones for commercial usage.

Freshman Raylyn Steele, freshman Layla Jones and senior Cedric Boyles have earned their Part 107 Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). They join Columbia High junior Joshua Shoulders as the first Richland One students to earn the certification before graduating high school. Joshua earned his certification in June 2025.

All four students are part of Richland One’s high school BLAST (Building Lasting Aerospace and STEM Trajectories) national defense magnet program.

“These four students have joined the ranks of less than a hundredth of a percent of the nation's elite teens. Our aerospace students are paving the way for peers and posterity in aviation, proving what is possible when educational opportunities are innovative, bold and meaningful,” said Dr. Joy Obidike, the aerospace and STEM consultant at Columbia High.

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Boy standing and smiling with arms crossed

PHOTO 1: Columbia High School freshman Raylyn Steele has earned his Part 107 Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing him to fly drones for commercial usage.
 

Girl standing and smiling

PHOTO 2: Columbia High School freshman Layla Jones has earned her Part 107 Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing her to fly drones for commercial usage.
 

 

Boy standing and smiling

PHOTO 3: Columbia High School senior Cedric Boyles has earned his Part 107 Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing him to fly drones for commercial usage.