Lt. Col. Tyler Keener walked back into the school where he once played football, this time wearing a Thunderbird flight suit.

Keener, a 2006 Bolles graduate who serves as Thunderbird 7 and Director of Operations for the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, visited both Bolles campuses in October while in Jacksonville for the NAS Jacksonville Air Show, the school announced. He brought his wife, Allison Regas Keener, also a 2006 Bolles graduate, and their family.

The Thunderbirds performed at the air show Oct. 17 and 18 alongside the U.S. Navy Blue Angels at NAS Jacksonville, according to the Florida Times-Union.

Keener's first stop was the Bolles Lower School Whitehurst Campus on Thursday, Oct. 15. Whitehurst Campus Head Dr. Christy Lusk welcomed the family. During a Flag assembly, fifth-grader Maggie, Class of 2034, introduced Keener to her schoolmates. He surprised her with a Thunderbird pin.

He then spoke to students in McGehee Auditorium, describing how Thunderbird pilots fly in formation sometimes separated by as little as 18 inches. He used those moments to talk about courage.

"When you are nervous or scared and then you move through it anyways, that is bravery. That is courage," Keener told students, according to the school. "Fear, feeling nervous or not wanting to do something is a perfectly normal and good thing."

Before leaving, he taught the younger Bulldogs how to salute. The students joined in enthusiastically, the school said.

Five days later, on Tuesday, Oct. 20, Keener returned to McGehee Auditorium to address upper school students at the Bolles San Jose Campus. Senior Grant Prokop, Class of 2027, introduced him. Keener used photos and stories from his own life to trace the path from Bolles student-athlete to Thunderbird pilot.

He told upper school students he never imagined this career when he sat in their seats. He encouraged them to focus less on avoiding failure and more on how they respond when things go wrong.

Keener told the younger students he planned to look for Bolles from the cockpit during his air show flights over Jacksonville.