Ready to Answer the Call
For most college students, balancing classes, work and extracurriculars is enough to fill a schedule.
For Ali Moses, college also meant responding to fire calls, serving in the North Dakota Army National Guard, mentoring younger aviation students and completing flight training - all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
Ali graduated from the University of North Dakota this spring with a degree in Helicopter Operations and a safety specialization. But the common thread running through each of her commitments wasn’t only aviation or academics. It was service.
Ali credits UND’s flight program with emphasizing safe decision-making alongside technical skills.
That commitment began long before she stepped onto UND’s campus. Ali joined the Thompson Volunteer Fire Department when she was just 14 years old, an experience that eventually helped shape her career goals.
She had already been introduced to aviation through a fixed-wing discovery flight, but a helicopter discovery flight at UND during high school helped her picture a future in the field.
"That discovery flight was what helped me understand what a helicopter was and made me realize it could be a career,” she said.
Ali joined the Thompson Volunteer Fire Department when she was just 14 years old, an experience that eventually helped shape her career goals.
At UND, Ali served as president and later vice president of the UND Helicopter Association, helping connect students with industry opportunities while mentoring younger classmates.
Growing up in Thompson, Ali said UND always felt familiar. But the depth of the aviation program stood out once she began learning more about it. " I mean, having an aviation program like UND’s was just the best choice,” she said.
During her time at UND, Ali served as president and later vice president of the UND Helicopter Association, helping connect students with industry opportunities while mentoring younger classmates.
"I loved it,” she said. “I love to be able to help them, especially the younger kids that are working through the same challenges I faced.”
That desire to help others showed up in other ways, too. Ali was part of a CFI (certified flight instructor) tutor lab, where students could reach out for free help with flight training. For Ali, it was also a way to prepare for her own next step as a flight instructor.
"I’ve always been a believer that actions speak louder than words,” she said. “You need to show it, you can’t just say it.”
UND is teaching you step by step how to be the safest and most efficient and best pilot out there.
Ali also pursued a safety specialization, believing it would make her a stronger pilot. She credits UND’s flight program with emphasizing safe decision-making alongside technical skills.
"They’re teaching you step by step how to be the safest and most efficient and best pilot out there,” she said. “They don’t skip safety.
Balancing those commitments required careful planning. Along with coursework and flight training, Ali worked part-time, served as an aerospace student ambassador, remained active with the fire department and fulfilled her National Guard responsibilities.
Ali has never been someone to stick to just one interest, however. Alongside aviation, military service and firefighting, she enjoys riding motorcycles, detailing cars, bible study with friends and — even after everything else on her schedule — baking.
“I’ve always just made an effort to make sure my homework is done before I’m doing anything else,” she said. “Developing good time management skills through small habits like that has really helped me stay on top of everything.”
Ali plans to remain at UND as a flight instructor before pursuing helicopter tours in Alaska and, ultimately, a career as a medevac pilot.
Military service became an important part of Ali’s college experience and personal development. Following an interest in law enforcement and a family legacy of service — her father in the Army and her grandfather served in the Vietnam War — she enlisted in the National Guard as a Military Police officer. Midway through her contract, she transitioned to helicopter maintenance, gaining valuable experience that aligned with her aviation studies.
The experience also strengthened skills that extend beyond aviation.
“I learned so much resiliency and patience,” she said. “I’m much more disciplined with things."
Now a UND graduate, Ali plans to remain at UND as a flight instructor before pursuing helicopter tours in Alaska and, ultimately, a career as a medevac pilot. A path that brings together everything she’s worked toward — aviation, emergency response and service to others.
Whether she’s responding to a fire call, mentoring another student or preparing for her next flight, Ali is driven by the same goal: using her skills to help people when they need them most.