Inspiring Minds founder takes to the skies Published June 20, 2017 By Senior Airman Jeffrey Grossi 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- As Deryck Toles dons a green G-suit and flight harness, he has every look of a fighter pilot. He stands tall and is proud to be on the flightline. Beside him is an F-16 painted in bright red, white and blue. It belongs to the world-renowned U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. Toles is excited, but his demeanor is calm, and he is focused, absorbing every word of the pre-flight brief. The ground crew guides him up into the cockpit and he straps in. It is an inspiring scene as he places a red flight helmet upon his head and the cockpit canopy begins to close. He waves to a group of almost 50 teenagers watching expectantly from the ground, taxis to the end of the runway, then rockets up and into the sky. At this moment, he looks like a true hero. In reality, Deryck Toles is not a fighter pilot with the Thunderbirds, and he is not in the Air Force. But on a sunny Friday morning at Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Toles did fly with the Thunderbirds as their Hometown Hero for the 2017 Thunder Over the Valley Air Show, and to the students watching and many others, he was and continues to live up to the name. Toles, 36, is the founder of Inspiring Minds (IM), a not-for-profit educational organization with the mission of engaging, inspiring and empowering youth to reach their full potential through education and exposure to life-changing experiences. IM is dedicated to enabling students to succeed in school by providing them with educational support services and individualized help so that they can grow academically and socially. Each year, more than 1,000 IM tutors help nearly 2,000 students advance in reading, writing, math and social skills. Toles believes that negative things spread fast, but positive things can be even more infectious. He believes this because he has had first-hand experience on both sides of the coin. Toles said he had a rough background growing up, but was lucky enough to have had people in his life who were not only at the right place at the right time, but were willing to help. People like his football coach provided him with impactful opportunities and guidance. Their influence led him to success on the football field as Toles played for Penn State University and two seasons in the NFL before suffering a career-ending injury. When his football career ended, Toles returned to Warren, Ohio, where a few neighborhood teenagers gravitated toward the former offensive linebacker. As he considered what to do with his life away from football, he knew he wanted to reach out in his own neighborhood. So, in 2006 Inspiring Minds broke ground. What began as four students meeting with Toles at McDonalds for tutoring and mentorship soon grew to 400 students and later expanded to Youngstown. Toles said that he doesn’t intend to stop there. The organization has plans to begin a chapter in Philadelphia next summer. Inspiring Minds also has a goal of creating a presence in each of the United States and even opening a boarding school. To some, these ambitions may seem lofty. But with the help of the Thunderbirds, Toles’ motto of “Anything’s Possible” has never rang truer. “I really want to thank the Air Force Base,” said Toles. “I want to thank them for the opportunity to fly and for their support of the organization.” Eric White, a public affairs specialist with the 910th Airlift Wing, coordinates community relations programs with Inspiring Minds. “The Youngstown Air Reserve Station provides long-term mentorship development programs where our Service members volunteer their time to mentor and tutor students and provide fun and educational opportunities that they wouldn’t get elsewhere,” said White. And what can be more fun than watching your mentor zoom around the sky at extreme speeds? Marcus Frazier, 15, has been with the Inspiring Minds program for three years and had never before seen the Thunderbirds. Frazier said he was more excited to see Toles take off than any other performance. “The biggest thing is to show these kids that anything is possible,” said Toles. “To get them out and see these planes, inspire them to fly a plane or join the Air Force.” During his flight, Toles said that he and his pilot, Capt. Erik Gonsalves, the Advance Pilot/Narrator for the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, pulled about 9 Gs, and his favorite part was the take off as well as being in the air with two additional aircraft. “The experience gave me a new perspective and appreciation for the Air Force,” said Toles. “The precision of those pilots is amazing.”