Tulsa Teen With Down Syndrome Spends Day As Southwest Flight Attendant

Travelers at Tulsa International Airport were greeted by a special guest Tuesday as one Tulsa teen was given her dream opportunity to work as a flight attendant.

Tuesday, August 6th 2019, 6:12 pm

By: Mallory Thomas

Travelers at Tulsa International Airport were greeted by a special guest Tuesday as one Tulsa teen was given her dream opportunity to work as a flight attendant.

From helping travelers with checking their bags at ticketing to scanning boarding passes, Averie Hight had the opportunity to be a Southwest employee at TIA.

Since traveling with her dad and meeting flight attendants across the country, Averie Hight expressed interest in becoming a flight attendant. Hight has Down Syndrome, but her father says that hasn’t stopped her from graduating from Charles Page High School and it’s not going to stop her from joining the work force.

"There's opportunities there if we just open up our eyes and give these students the opportunity to go out and have a fulfilled life," said Richard Hight.

You could feel the love at the Southwest ticket counter where she helped passengers with their baggage.

"We're just trying to break the label," Richard said. "Don't say that she can't do it - we'll find a way."

After scanning boarding passes, Averie made one more stop on the plane. Bringing joy to passengers and crew was all in a day's work.

"You can see that aviation makes her happy, and I'm glad we were able to let her out here and make her day," said Jeffrey Odell of Southwest Airlines.

Mallory Thomas

Mallory joined the News On 6 team in 2019. Originally from Arlington, Texas, Mallory is a loyal Texas Rangers fan. She lived behind the Texas “Pine Curtain” for four years while studying at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches. Af

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