Careers Taking Flight<\/a>\u201d summer externship.<\/p>\n\u201c\u2018Careers Taking Flight\u2019 gives Long Beach students a chance to see themselves in careers they may never have considered before,\u201d Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement. \u201cWhen students walk onto an airfield and experience the industry firsthand, a career that once seemed out of reach can suddenly feel possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the weeklong program, from Aug. 17 to 21, students gained hands-on experience through behind-the-scenes tours, career panels and personal conversations with industry professionals, exploring opportunities ranging from aviation operations and aircraft maintenance to aviation safety, security and piloting, according to a press release.<\/p>\n
In partnership with the Long Beach Unified School District, the 40-hour externship, which is offered in two cohorts each summer, is a short-term, career-exploration program that gives students hands-on exposure to the aviation and airport industry, the press release said. Students are selected through a competitive application and interview process, with hundreds applying each year for a limited number of spots. Each student who successfully completes the program with perfect attendance receives $500.<\/p>\n
The program also provides opportunities for students to continue building toward aviation careers after graduating from the externship by offering internships, networking and training opportunities with the airport and its partners, officials said.<\/p>\n
Since the program began four years ago, 82 students have graduated from it.<\/p>\n
\u201cLong Beach has a long history as a nationally significant aviation hub,\u201d LBUSD Superintendent David Zaid said in a statement. \u201c\u2018Careers Taking Flight\u2019 allows students to explore careers, build confidence and see new possibilities in aviation. We\u2019re grateful to Long Beach Airport for investing in our students and helping bring those possibilities to life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students learned directly from airport tenants, aviation companies, federal agencies and airline partners. Participants toured aviation facilities, heard from professionals about their career journeys, and took part in interactive activities designed to give them a firsthand understanding of the industry, the press release said.<\/p>\n
Partners that provided tours, guest speakers and learning experiences included Aeroplex\/Aerolease Group, AMPAIRE, Atlantic Aviation, CLEAR, the Federal Aviation Administration, FlightSafety International, Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines, JetZero, Sling Pilot Academy, SoCal Jet Services, Southwest Airlines and the Transportation Security Administration.<\/p>\n
On the final day of the program, students were offered exploration flights through Chapter 7 of the Experimental Aircraft Association\u2019s Young Eagles program, officials said. For many participants, the flights provided their first opportunity to experience general aviation from the cockpit and put the week\u2019s lessons into a new perspective. Long Beach Airport also hosted a graduation ceremony for participating students on Aug. 21.<\/p>\n
The \u201cCareers Taking Flight\u201d externship is part of Long Beach Airport\u2019s broader initiative to inspire the next generation of aviation professionals through a suite of programs that span from grade school outreach to college fellowships, the press release said. Besides the externship, the airport also hosts an average of 2,000 members of the public, most of them students, on free tours of the airport.<\/p>\n
This program aligns with the city\u2019s Strategic Plan for Youth and Emerging Adults, which prioritizes academic enrichment and workforce development for Long Beach youth. The program is also one of many activations taking place during the summer to foster positive youth development as part of the city\u2019s Summer of Opportunity initiative.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Careers Taking Flight\u2019 is more than introducing students to aviation \u2013 it\u2019s about uplifting students with meaningful experiences that can shape the future,\u201d Long Beach Airport Director Cynthia Guidry said in a statement. \u201cWe want students to leave this program with new skills, connections and a clearer sense of what\u2019s possible. It\u2019s about helping dreams take flight.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long Beach high school students got to explore jobs in the aviation industry this summer. The Long Beach…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446408,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,23,131,1475,133,132,49733,137],"class_list":["post-446407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-california","tag-local-news","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-airport","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-long-beach-unified-school-district","tag-los-angeles-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}