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His greatest wish is to be a flight attendant

Coquitlam teen off to Montreal to learn to be a flight attendant — a wish granted by the Children's Wish Foundation
Children's Wish
Kirill Gladyshevskiy of Coquitlam is off to Montreal to learn how to be a flight attendant, thanks to the Children's Wish Foundation.

If granted the ultimate wish, most people wouldn’t ask for job training.

But most people aren’t 14-year-old Kirill Gladyshevskiy.

The Banting middle school student is off to Montreal this week, beginning Sunday, May 5, to learn how to be a flight attendant, thanks to the generosity of the Children’s Wish Foundation and Air Transat.

“That is my dream job,” Gladyshevskiy told The Tri-City News Thursday before departing on the trip with his family, including his mom, dad and older brother, Daniel.

His job training experience will include simulation on multiple plane models, training on hands-on service skills, and emergency preparation. Upon graduating May 10, Gladyshevskiy will receive his own Air Transat uniform and a special pin. 

And even more exciting, Kirill will work on his flight back to Vancouver, fulfilling his dream of becoming a real flight attendant.

“When I heard about the Children’s Wish Foundation when I was still in treatment, I was very excited, I immediately knew, I’m going to be going on a trip, I’m going to go somewhere with my family, that motivated me to continue with my treatment, and deal with anything that happens,” Gladyshevskiy said.

On the day he talked to The News, Gladyshevskiy was heading to BC Children’s Hospital for a check up. He is now healthy after fighting acute lymphoblastic leukemia since he was six.

The flight experience will be exciting, as Gladyshevskiy has only been on a few airplanes, including on an airplane to Kazakhstan, his family’s former country, and to Montreal and Quebec as part of a school trip.

It was during these flights that Gladyshevskiy came to appreciate the work of flight attendants and started to dream of becoming one.

“Most people think that fight attendant are just people that serve you drinks and food, that is not the case, that is a small portion of what they do. They need intense safety training and emergency training to be able to handle the worst situation,” Gladyshevskiy said.

Although he has several more years of school left, the experience with Air Transat will put him in line for a good job in the future, and if that doesn’t work out, Gladyshevskiy would also like to be a mechanical engineer.

But for now, it’s enough for him to be on a trip with his family and enjoy a special treat, thanks to Air Transat and the Children’s Wish Foundation.

Since 2004, Air Transat has supported Children’s Wish across Canada through the annual Flight with Santa Claus out of Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. The on-board program Small Change, Big Hearts and local initiatives have also raised near $6 million for Children’s Wish since 1999.