Air aviation news – Loudoun County residents curious about what a career in aviation might look like gathered today at the Leesburg Executive Airport for the 17th Annual Aviation Education and Career Expo hosted by ProJet Aviation.
The event is catered toward 16 to 22-year-olds with a focus on introducing young people to a vast array of career opportunities in the aviation industry. Organizations within the field are invited to set up booths and share their company’s opportunities with students. The range of vendors included local colleges showcasing their aviation programs and degrees, the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force, aircraft consulting, flight schools, Civil Air Patrol, air medical services, aviation maintenance, NASA, in-flight catering, drone academies, the Federal Aviation Administration and ground training.
In addition to the opportunity for students to meet industry leaders, they also had a chance to listen to guest speakers, win prizes and watch demonstrations. Scholarship announcements were also made. Since 2005, the expo has awarded over $1.5 million in scholarships to high school and college students pursuing careers in the aviation and the aerospace industry, according to a press release.
One of the event keynote speakers was Chelsea Montgomery a 2019 Aviation Expo scholarship winner who is now a Boeing 737 airline, medical evacuation and charter pilot.
“I’m here to tell you today, with a lot of hard work, passion and time it is possible [to become a pilot],” she said. “The expo opened a lot of doors for me and not only did I realize that people wanted to invest in my dream of becoming a pilot, but I was able to meet so many people in the aviation industry that I still have relationships with here today.”
