Nate Vucsko-Cameron was seven years old when he climbed into the back seat of a small plane over a lake in northern Wisconsin. Tyler Stargardt was near the beginning of his own aviation career then, but that flight marked the start of a mentorship that would help guide Nate to the flight deck. 

Nate and Tyler met through their families, whose lake homes were just a few doors apart. Summers brought waterskiing, wakeboarding, and other adventures on the water. They also gave Nate an early view of the path Tyler was beginning to build in aviation. 

Tyler had recently earned his private pilot license when he joined Nate and his dad for the flight that became one of Nate’s earliest aviation memories.

As Nate grew older, that early ride became more than a childhood memory. Aviation began to look like a future he could pursue, and Tyler became the person who could help him understand what that future would require.

Nate’s dad also held a private pilot license, but Tyler could show him another side of flying. Tyler continued into the industry and became an Endeavor Air pilot, giving Nate a candid look at the training, decisions, and persistence behind a professional pilot career. 

The mentorship became especially meaningful when Nate began considering where to study aviation. Minnesota State University, Mankato, was not on his list until Tyler offered to show him the campus. 

“I ended up showing him Mankato’s campus as an informal tour,” Tyler said. “He fell in love with the university and knew that’s where he wanted to spend his next four years.” 

The visit changed Nate’s plans almost immediately. 

“Before the tour, Mankato definitely wasn’t on the list, or the B-list or the C-list,” Nate joked.  

At Mankato, Nate began turning an early interest in flying into a profession. Tyler remained a trusted sounding board, sharing what he had learned while encouraging Nate to take ownership of each decision and keep moving forward. 

In 2025, Nate graduated from Mankato, exactly 10 years after Tyler.

“We’ve always joked that I’m basically just 10 years behind Tyler,” Nate said. 

That 10-year head start made Tyler a valuable guide. He could help Nate look beyond the next milestone, prepare for the long term, and remain adaptable when the path changed. 

For Nate, Tyler became more than a source of career advice. He was the person Nate could turn to when the next step was not obvious. For Tyler, the relationship grew into something just as meaningful. 

“I don’t have a little brother, but Nate has played that role in my life,” Tyler said. “It’s been fun to watch him grow.” 

Tyler is quick to credit Nate for doing the work and making the path his own. 

“You can’t shape somebody who doesn’t have some of those things in them,” Tyler said. “He would have been fine through this whole thing without me being there. It’s been more about nudging him in certain directions.” 

Those nudges helped Nate move steadily toward the career he had imagined since childhood. Today, he has reached the flight deck as an Endeavor Air first officer, the same airline where Tyler once flew.

When it came time for Nate to receive his Endeavor wings, Tyler had a special surprise in store. Tyler had held onto his own Endeavor wings for years, hoping that one day he could pass them along to Nate.

During Nate’s winging ceremony, Tyler quietly stepped into the class, with Nate having no idea his mentor was there. Tyler presented Nate with his original Endeavor wings, a meaningful gesture that symbolized not only Nate’s achievement, but also the mentorship and friendship that had helped guide him to the flight deck.

“Tyler has been just the greatest mentor I could possibly have asked for,” Nate said. “He’s shaped the person I am. When I make a decision in life, whether big or small, I ask myself, ‘Is this something Tyler would do?’” 

The seven-year-old who once rode in the back seat now has a flight deck of his own. As Nate builds his career at Endeavor, he hopes the path ahead will one day lead to Delta and the opportunity to fly alongside the mentor who helped guide him there.