Aviation Prodigy Jamail Larkins Shares His Passion for
Flying
In an effort to provide hands-on
educational opportunities to area students, DFW International
Airport joins forces with the Federal Aviation Administration and
American Airlines to host the first-ever Aviation and
Transportation Career Expo. This year's Expo is themed "Get Moving
in the Right Direction--Non-Stop Success" and is the first large
scale event created to allow first through twelfth grade students
in North Texas to receive an introduction to potential careers in
aviation and transportation.
Staged inside an American Airlines maintenance hangar at DFW
International Airport, the Expo's main draw includes static
aircraft displays, vehicle displays, and hands-on demonstrations
and exhibits. The Aviation and Transportation Career Expo also
features representatives from industry, government and academia,
all available to answer questions and talk directly to students and
teachers. DFW's community outreach programs focus primarily on
aviation and education for North Texas.
More than 35 agencies, companies and organizations including the
Texas Department of Transportation, General Motors and Lockheed
Martin provided the displays of static aircraft and vehicles, and
also informational materials to the more than 3,000 students in
attendance.
"Seeing so many students here today gives us a very positive
outlook for the future of our business," says Jeff Fegan, CEO of
DFW Airport. "We are pleased to provide the setting for these
students to imagine themselves in a cockpit or at the forefront of
new technology in a transportation-related career."
Students also heard a presentation by aviation prodigy Jamail
Larkins (above), the youngest air show performer in America and a
spokesman for the EAA Young Eagles Program.
"There are many different opportunities that most people don't
relate directly to the aviation industry, like business
opportunities, government jobs, aeronautical engineering, computer
engineering and others," says the 20-year-old Larkin, now a junior
at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. "I want to let students
know these opportunities exist, and get a few more young people to
join the aviation industry."
As the national spokesman for Careers in Aviation, a non-profit
organization that promotes and provides aviation opportunities to
young people, Larkins travels nationwide to encourage students to
discover the potential rewards of a career in aviation or
transportation.