User:Bhgross144/sandbox

Dwight attended grade school at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1951, he became the first African-American male to graduate from Bishop Ward High School, a private Roman Catholic high school in Kansas City, Kansas. He was a member of the National Honor Society and received a scholarship to attend the Kansas City Art Institute.

Dwight enrolled in Kansas City Junior College (later renamed Metropolitan Community College) and graduated with an Associate of Arts degree in Engineering in 1953. He subsequently enlisted in the United States Air Force and completed his airman's and cadet pre-flight training at Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas. He then traveled to Malden Air Base in Malden, Missouri to finish his primary flight training. He received a commission as an Air Force second lieutenant in 1955 before being assigned to Williams Air Force Base, southeast of Phoenix, Arizona.

While training to become a test pilot, Dwight attended night classes at Arizona State University. In 1957, he graduated cum laude with a B.S. in aeronautical engineering. Dwight later completed Air Force courses in experimental test piloting and aerospace research at Edwards Air Force Base in 1961 and 1962, respectively.

Confronted with racial discrimination and a lack of career opportunities, Dwight resigned from the Air Force in 1966. He moved to Denver and earned an M.F.A. degree in sculpture from the University of Denver in 1977.