Dublin Life | February/March 2022 | CityScene Media Group |

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 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 flying as of the end of November. Read hopes to have her pilot’s license by the time she graduates.

“There’s no specific word to describe (flying),” Read says. “It’s just an amazing feeling.”

Getting off the Ground

Connections are key in any industry, and aviation is no different – not only have students practiced flying drones, built resumes and begun to pursue career endeavors, but students in the Aviation Academy have also been able to touch base with professionals in the industry.

“We have lessons, and we have tests, but what’s different about Aviation Academy is that we actually have engineers and CEOs and people from the industry come and talk to us,” Jamal says. “Just having that experience and making that connection, it shows us how we’ll apply what we learn into the industry.”

Some of those connections come directly from the program. Cunningham, who is a member of the Ohio Air National Guard, helped guide Smith, who says she is interested in joining the military after graduating, in the direction of the Air Force ROTC Scholarship.

In part due to Cunningham’s guidance, Smith applied and was awarded a scholarship granting her full tuition to any university with an Air Force ROTC detachment in addition to a stipend for books and living expenses.

Regardless of specific plans, Cunningham says his goal is to make students feel ready for their futures.

“That hybrid program, with half the time being spent down on campus in the university environment at OSU airport, really gives them that exposure,” he says. “I can’t think of anything that’s more college prep than, you know, being in a college class on campus.”

Tess Wells is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at [email protected].