Aviation Comes Alive for Twenty-Five Belizean Students

For most kids, an airport is where a vacation begins. But for twenty-five young Belizeans, the Tropic Air hangar became a classroom today, offering a front-row seat to careers that keep the aviation industry moving. The students are the first participants in Belize’s inaugural STEM Aviation Camp, a weeklong program giving them hands-on exposure to everything from aircraft engineering and air traffic control to firefighting and aviation maintenance. News Five’s Britney Gordon stopped by to see how the camp is helping young minds take flight.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Belize’s aviation industry gave twenty-five students a behind-the-scenes look at life beyond the runway today. Inside Tropic Air’s hangar, the first cohort of the country’s STEM Aviation Camp got hands-on exposure to careers ranging from aircraft maintenance to engineering. The initiative, led by the STEMU Foundation and Deep Blue Avionics, aims to bring STEM education to life through real-world experiences, says Saint Catherine Academy Vice-Principal of Student Affairs, Jamie Usher.

 

Jamie Usher, Vice-Principal of Student Affairs, Saint Catherine Academy 

“One of the best comments so far has been, “Wow, so I don’t only have to be a pilot.” So this has really  broadened the lens of how students in Belize see aviation. So we have exposed them to at least eight different career pathways that it can look like, including one of the most exciting ones where we have engineers working with aviation and we have a welding component STEMU is facilitating. And so it’s really been exciting.”

 

Students traveled from Belmopan, Corozal, and Orange Walk to Belize City for the camp, where they wasted no time putting their lessons into practice. Inside the aviation environment, they got a firsthand look at the wide range of STEM careers that keep Belize’s civil aviation industry flying, from engineering and maintenance to air traffic operations and safety services. We asked a few participants what they’d learned so far throughout the course of the week.

 

Damariel Aguilar, Participant

“I learned that there are boys and girls who are pilots, and Ms. Terry from Deep Blue Avionics taught me that not only boys, but also women, can be pilots and engineers like her.”

 

Skye Williams, Participant

“I learned about the four forces of a plan, drag, thrust, lift and weight.”

 

Abigail Rivero, Participant

“I learned that this summer camp can expose children to other fields, so when they choose their career choice, they would have experienced almost everything so they don’t feel like they’ve missed out on anything at all.”

 

Yuvaan Lalwani, Participant

“So I learned about the phonetic alphabets that are Y for Yankee, A for alpha, B for bravo, like that.”

 

The camp started with two days of classroom learning, where students got familiar with aviation terms and the phonetic alphabet. Now, they’re taking that knowledge into the field, touring the municipal airport and preparing for visits to the BDF Air Wing and the Civil Aviation Department. STEMU Founder Jarrus Mitchell says the organization was created to open doors through camps, vocational training, and professional development in high-demand fields like engineering, agriculture, healthcare, and information technology.

 

Jarrus Mitchell, Founder, STEMU

“So for the STEM aviation, the curriculum is really around the basic principles of aviation and how a career in aviation, what it would look like, whether it’s a aviation firefighter, whether it’s a pilot, whether it’s air traffic controller. Showing the kids these jobs and giving them something to aspire to.”

 

Mitchell says that while many students are eager to learn and explore these fields, often there are limited opportunities for them to explore.

 

Jarrus Mitchell

“So a lot of the camps that we do here in Belize is a mirror of what we do in the States. I have to admit that the programs that are here in Belize are unique in the fact that the access. Most of the children we see need more access.”

 

The organizers say that the camp’s success has been fueled by strong support from aviation partners, who joined forces to make the first-of-its-kind initiative possible, setting a solid foundation to deliver an impactful experience and expand the program annually. Britney Gordon for News Five.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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