What does it take to spark an aviation interest in the heart of a young person?
Well, no one really knows. It could be a vivid description of flying adventures by a family member, a friend, or a book author, a trip to the local airport to watch airplanes takeoff and land, a first flight on a sunny day, or an innate longing to be airborne and free.
Natalie is a multimedia instructor at the Jefferson County Vocational School in Bloomingdale, Ohio. Since college, she has made her way towards her private pilot certificate. Her path to the coveted certificate has been long and slow but her passion for flight is unwavering. “Flying set you free,” she writes in her blog.
Although she is not yet a private pilot, she is bringing aviation in her classroom to increase her students’ awareness of aviation opportunities and to inspire them to give their dreams a chance. Airplane parts and her airplane photos decorate the walls of her classroom.
“My students have never been to the local airport or near a Cessna. I want to inspire them,” she says. And she does with the classroom environment that she creates and the subjects of some of the classroom assignments.
For example, the classroom will be producing a two-minute video segment on ” How does an airplane fly?” for digital learning day. Two female students will be going to the airport to film and take their first flight as part of project. They are thrilled! The class also created video segments on famous individuals including famed women pilots, Harriet Quimby and Bessie Coleman.
Recently, Natalie spotted a new Cessna Sky Catcher at the local airport. It has her name on it. She will earned her Private Pilot certificate shortly and will be able to further inspire all her students. How many will choose to work in the aviation industry and how many will learn to fly? Time will tell.