Part 7 of a series.

Wheatland High School 1997 graduate Jef Rice (son of Mike Rice and Joanne Rice) spent time at the United States Naval Academy and University of Wyoming. With Torrie, his wife of 18 years, Rice returned to Wheatland where he operated a small gunsmithing shop for about 10 years. He then returned to school at Laramie County Community College where he earned a degree in wind energy technology.
During his growing up years, he had flown radio controlled planes with his father so had developed a skill with and a love for planes. While working for General Electric as a wind turbine technician in Cedar City, Utah, Rice got his private pilot license at a local airport.

“At the time I had no intention of making flying a career. I was just enjoying flying around Utah, Nevada and northern Arizona,” he stated in an interview via text.
In 2015, Rice relocated to Mesa, Arizona, to make flying a career.
“One of the advantages of flying for a living is we can live almost anywhere we choose; the commute to work may just be a bit longer than most,” he stated.
Rice earned his commercial certificate for both single- and multi-engine aircraft along with instructor ratings for single-engine, multi-engine and instruments. From there he went to work for CAE Oxford Aviation Academy in Phoenix.
“While there I worked my way up from instructor teaching cadets for several airlines around the world and held the position of flight lead managing the day-to-day issues of students as well as supervisor and mentor to other instructors,” Rice stated.
When he left CAE, he was the training program manager for the new JetBlue Gateway Select program, was training new instructors and served as a check airman for instructors and students.
When Rice answered the text of interview questions he was “… sitting in Phoenix Sky Harbor (airport) waiting on my flight to go begin the next phase of my career. I have been hired by Horizon Airlines to fly the Q400. If all goes well this will lead to a position in a 737 with Alaska Airlines in about five years,” he wrote.
Rice advises high school students: “Don’t get absolutely set on an absolute path from high school through your final career. There will be an unbelievable number of opportunities that you will find available in your future if you are willing to get your hands dirty and follow something you are passionate about.”