While this was our Aviation Team’s 3rd AOPA HS STEM Symposium to attend, it was a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the symposium. The symposium took place in Atlanta, GA this year and was attended by Dana Morisset, Brandon Siegrist, and Kendall Morisset along with hundreds of other aviation teachers across the country. Oklahoma was well-represented, as usual, and has grown to be the state with the most teachers to attend.
The symposium was educational and inspiring and provided plenty of opportunities for the team to network with other teachers. In fact, in one of our breakout sessions, Dana taught other teachers how to build the wind tunnel and airfoils to measure lift while Kendall taught other teachers how to build a Stirling engine. The breakout sessions were great, but the most exciting sessions were from the keynote speakers at the beginning and end of the symposium.
Sean Tucker kicked off the symposium sharing his adventures as an Aerobatic Pilot. His stories were hilarious, harrowing, engaging, and most importantly, inspiring! Sean’s custom built Challenger III biplane hangs in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. next to Orville and Wilbur Wright’s first plane!
2nd Lt. Madison Marsh, U.S. Air Force Active Duty, was our ending keynote speaker. She just happens to be the very first active-duty service member to be our REIGNING Miss America! She talked about her journey to becoming a pilot, an Air Force Academy graduate, and a Harvard Master’s graduate.
Paula Kedy, Statewide STEM Education Manager for the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics, used Wyandotte Aviation as an example in her breakout session. She bragged on how even the small rural district like Wyandotte is killing the aviation STEM program and how we have grown so much that we needed to buy a building to house our program!