Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WEST VALLEY CITY — Students interested in aviation had a unique opportunity Thursday to talk with industry professionals during a helicopter fly-in event at Granger High School.
"The whole purpose is to try to get more students looking at this as a career area," said Sandi Hemmert, career and technical education coordinator at Granite School District.
Hemmert, who also sits on the Utah Rotor Association board, cited a high demand for workers in the aviation industry as the primary reason the organization brought its Pathway program to the district.
The program brings together industry professionals and students at universities and high schools to provide helicopter pilot and maintenance training. Helicopters from emergency services, firefighting agencies, training facilities and other organizations made a stop at Granger High School on Thursday to provide students and the general community with an opportunity to get an in-depth look at the machines.
"(Students) got to see the helicopters fly in and then they got to talk to the different people who flew in about what kinds of career openings (are available) and what they would need to do," Hemmert said.
Granite School District offers a concurrent enrollment aviation program, where students receive both high school and college credit for the classes they complete. Students pay $5 per credit hour, which is an affordable price point and sets them up well for college, Hemmert said.
"It allows us to get more kids kind of setting a trajectory in what they might want to do and they really do some cost savings for them in the cost of their college credits," Hemmert said.
Hemmert said that the district has received great feedback about the program from students, also noting the experience was useful for students who decided they might not want a career in aviation, after all.
"Some of the kids said to me, 'We really don't think this is what we want to do,' which is as important as them deciding they want to do it," Hemmert said.
Overall, she said that the opportunity to speak with aviation professionals and see some of the daily duties of the industry is helpful for students looking to decide a career path.
"Students suddenly get a bigger idea of what it is, what you would be doing and that helps them broaden their perspective in a way that they might choose that as a place to go," Hemmert said.
