HENRICO COUNTY, Va. – A group of students learned about various job opportunities at the Richmond International Airport on Friday.
The students, who attend high schools in Henrico County, climbed into a plane’s cockpit, explored other aircraft via a flight simulator and got a first-hand look at some of the airport’s massive fire trucks.
"This is really amazing," a student named Electra, who is interested in becoming a pilot or an astronaut, said. "This has been a great opportunity to see all these planes and the inside and how this all works."
The field experience was part of the Aviation Reaching Communities program between Henrico County Public Schools and the Capital Regional Airport Commission, the group that owns and manages Richmond International Airport.
“It’s an effort on the airport’s part to engage students, expose them to possible careers in aviation and the varied opportunities there are with the airport,” John Rutledge with the Capital Airport Commission explained.
Students were selected based on their responses to a questionnaire from their school that gauged their interest in the field.
Rutledge said the facility is so much more than just pilots and airlines and that many positions help maintain the airport’s 3,000-acre campus.
“We have a police department, a fire department,” Rutledge said. “It takes electricians, electronics technicians, maintenance personnel, plumbers, plus the executive level.”
This is the second year the airport has offered the program to students from high schools in Henrico County.
Rutledge said there is a huge need for people in this field and hopes the hands-on experience inspires them to find their fit in aviation.
“The students that show up – there may be just one or two it sparks an interest in – and if that happens that’s well worth the effort of what we do,” he said.
Along with the multitude of jobs available to students after college, there is a program for others, who opt to work at the airport out of high school, that will pay for their next level of education.
“It’s like taking a new adventure, almost like you’re a superhero when you're coming up from the ground and into the air,” a student named Femi said. “Makes me want to actually be a pilot."
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