Ashley Mills had initially charted a future in the skies as a professional pilot. However, her career path took off toward a higher calling, with faith fuelling her mission in guiding young hearts closer to Christ.

Her career has taken flight as the newest youth minister at St. James Parish in Colgan, Ont.,

Growing up minutes away from Colgan in Tottenham, Ont., northwest of Toronto, Mills had actively lived her faith within the St. James Parish for years. Having been an altar server there in her youth, she now finds herself working with the children of the families that saw her grow up the same way and in the same place. 

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Before landing in the parish office, Mills was pursuing an entirely different path in aviation, a growing passion stumbled into at age 13 through the Air Cadets despite not initially being drawn to flying.

“ I feel like most pilots end up falling in love with flying from a super young age, and that was so not me. It wasn't something on my radar at all until I joined the Air Cadets just to give it a shot,” she said. 

“It wasn’t until I went up in a Fleet Finch, which is an open-air World War II trainer, that I was blown away by how cool (flying) was. It was such a surreal feeling, and I fell in love with it. I knew that was something I wanted to do.” 

Through a growing love for the craft and extensive  preparatory work in learning about all aspects of aviation, such as meteorology, navigation and aircraft systems, Mills earned her glider licence at age 17 and her power licence a year later through Air Cadet program scholarships. 

At Seneca College, she earned an Honours Bachelor's in Aviation Technology and has logged more than 300 hours in the sky in planes such as the Beechcraft Baron B58, Cessna 172S, Cessna 152 and Cessna 150. Mills also gained practical experience as a student liaison with WestJet for more than two years during her time at Seneca.  

However, the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020 acted as major turbulence in her career path, a moment Mills still recalls vividly. 

“All of a sudden, those opportunities are just gone, and in an instant, we went from the world being our oyster to having nothing. My whole life was seemingly set out for me, but then I had no idea what the next step was going to be,” she said. 

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Not wanting to settle for non-cockpit aviation roles such as scheduling or working ramps, her devotion toward her faith led Mills to Catholic Christian Outreach at Trent University in Peterborough, Ont., where faith studies led her to consider ministry as a temporary pivot. During a year working in Halifax at  Saint Mary's University, she began to fall in love with ministry, finding a joy in serving Christ that would ultimately surpass her love for flying.   

“It was a time when I had never been so excited about anything else,” she said. “ My joy was from the Lord and the sacrifice being for Him and for building up His kingdom, but the greatest joy is getting to witness people encounter Christ. I love flying, but that love does not compare to how much joy there is in witnessing and helping with that encounter.” 

Mills would eventually unite with Fr. Eric Mah at her childhood parish in 2022 as an office administrator before becoming a full-time youth minister last October. Since then, she has assisted Mah in delivering Theology on Tap Tottenham as well as preparing for the launch of further youth ministry programs like Edge for children in Grades 6 to 8, Life Teen for high school students, children’s ministry for Grades 1 to 5 and a young adult ministry later this fall as the parish community continues to grow.    

Mah, pastor at St. James and creator of the Catholic Latte podcast, shared his appreciation for Mills’ work and professionalism, as well as his excitement for the blossoming future of youth ministry at the parish. 

“I met Ashley almost immediately after I arrived at the parish, and I've been blessed over the years to have someone like her who just happens to have the same mindset when it comes to our approach to the parish and youth ministry, in particular. She has a natural passion for leading people to Christ, and our young people see her as both their friend but also a terrific leader and pillar of the parish community. It can be a challenge to strike that balance, but she does it with such comfort and ease,” he said. 

“We recently had the Totus Tuus program at our parish, and even though the missionaries were here only for a week, one of them remarked that he was struck by the fact that everyone in the parish office seemed to be friends, as opposed to simply colleagues. It's something we've been trying to build: this sense of building true friendships within the parish community based on a common aspiration to put Christ first in all things and lead others to do the same.” 

Despite going from the cockpit to Catholic ministry, Mills has kept various lessons and teachings from her time in the skies, giving her a unique outlook and delivery of youth ministry. 

“ Aviation provides the foundation for handling high-stress situations, multitasking and all the groundwork that goes into preparing to make something happen. Now, Fr. Mah has been more of my guide and director in managing all those things. I think both fields have their place when it comes to that.” 

While she has not ruled out an eventual return to the skies in some form, Mills has found a vocation she once never expected but now fully embraces. To her, it’s a passion that soars even above that of a pilot. 

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“ There was one girl not long ago who came up to me and asked about getting baptized, and it’s moments like those that become the most exciting parts of my job. I just plant seeds, and the Lord does all the work of growing their fruits,” she said. 

“I’m beginning to witness some of those fruits, helping to build up the future of the Church and helping these kids get to Heaven, too, which is the whole goal.”