s tu d e nt s pot l i ght by Tess Wells Photos courtesy of Bo Cunningham
Passing with Flying Colors Aviation students pursue diverse career goals
Students in the Aviation Academy attended OSU’s Global Conference on Diversity in Aviation, Aerospace and STEM, which took place Oct. 26-27.
While many may immediately think of pilots when they hear the word “aviation,” Bo Cunningham is quick to say that there are 10 jobs within the industry for every single pilot. Many of those career options are being explored by Dublin students at the Aviation Academy, where Cunningham serves as program coordinator. It’s the newest of 12 academies at Dublin City Schools’ Emerald Campus. Students participating in the program’s inaugural year are pursuing career goals ranging from flying helicopters in the military to becoming engineers. “I realized about last year that I would want to go into physics as a major, just because I love science and it’s one of my strong suits,” says Kylyn Smith, a senior at Dublin Jerome High School. “After 36 • February/March 2022
joining this class, I realized how many different careers there are within the aviation industry.” The year-long program is a partnership with The Ohio State University allowing for college credit opportunity and access to the university’s airport. The Aviation Academy merges career readiness preparation – through collaboration with the Emerald Campus’ Young Professionals’ Academy – with practical aviation skills. Much of the practical skills are learned at OSU’s airport, says Lori Mesi, Emerald Campus administrator. “Part of this course, a big piece, is students are going to be prepared to earn their drone pilot credential,” Mesi says. “It’s great. I mean, it’s not only a valid and valuable industry credential, but it’s also something that can ultimately help students towards the graduation pathway for high school.” While drones are an exciting and new technology students will learn to pilot,
the academy is for pilots of larger aircraft, too. Keegan Blevins, a sophomore at Dublin Coffman High School, says he wants to join the military to fly helicopters and is considering joining ROTC at OSU in the future. “There have been some people in my family who have gone the military route,” Blevins says. “I don’t exactly want to follow in their footsteps, but I kind of felt the purpose to go there.” Some students hope to take things one small step further and aim to work with devices outside of Earth’s atmosphere. Adil Jamal, a senior at Coffman, says he hopes to pursue an aerospace engineering career. “When I was about to start high school, I used to follow a lot of the work that NASA used to do with their Mars rovers and their space shuttles,” Jamal says. “So when I actually did come to high school, I knew I wanted to do engineering.” Some students have already taken to the skies. Grace Read, a junior at Jerome, says she wants to become an airline pilot and already has 30 hours of experience
Since her first time with a flying vehicle, Grace Read, who aspires to be an airline pilot, has logged dozens of hours of flight time. www.dublinlifemagazine.com
