FAA grants helping Iowa community college’s aviation maintenance program really take off
Adam Townsend has been a mechanic his whole life, and plans to turn it into a career upon completion of his training at Indian Hills Community College.
He found his passion for aviation in high school, and though he thought about becoming a pilot, aviation maintenance allows him to combine his interests at a college close to home with a good program.
Now in his second year of the program, Townsend already is interning at a company in Des Moines and plans to continue there full-time after graduation. He said the recognition Indian Hills Community College is receiving through a federal grant solidifies his opinion of how good and important the school's training is.
“It makes me proud, honestly, it makes me feel that much more confident in my schooling and the knowledge that I've absorbed through my professors and through the school,” Townsend said. “It makes me feel like I'm more prepared.”
The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded a combined total of almost
$1.3 million to three Iowa community colleges to help update and support their aviation training programs.
Virtual reality program will help students understand difficult concepts
Indian Hills Community College and Iowa Western Community College are receiving $302,816 and $500,000 for their aviation maintenance and mechanics programs, respectively, and Iowa Lakes Community College has been awarded $493,657.
Each school will use funds from the grants to obtain new equipment and technology for its program, from virtual reality systems to drones.
Kimberly Dreaden, Indian Hills Community College North Campus’ program director, said there is a lot of theory involved in the aviation maintenance curriculum that can be hard to understand unless the students can actually see the equipment. Having new training aids and virtual reality systems will help students better understand what they’re working with.
“Our goal is to use some of these funds to obtain these trainings so students can see how these systems work and what the general flow (is), minus just using a diagram, like giving them a very active engagement with it,” Dreaden said.
Equipment like VR technology also can be taken into classrooms to show high school students what they would be doing if they pursue a career in aviation mechanics and to provide access to people who cannot commute to the college for in-person training.
Kyle Norris, an executive dean at Iowa Lake Community College, said the college is planning to expand its aviation programming into emerging technologies like drones and rotary-wing piloting and is opening new aviation cohorts in Spencer and Estherville. One of its goals is to fill the aviation career pipeline and reach more students throughout the region.
Drones, simulators and other technology will help the college engage with more high school students and show them that there isn’t just one path for aviation students, Norris said.
“This will help us open those doors to high school students that might be thinking of a career in agriculture and then really have a keen interest in the aviation side, and understanding that it just doesn’t mean flying planes for a commercial industry,” he said.
Funding will also help support students as they face certification exams
Promotion of the programs is another area where the colleges will be putting dollars, including expanding partnerships with schools and employers in order to attract students. Diana Garcia, dean of industrial technology and transportation at Iowa Western Community College, said the college previously used a different FAA grant for the same purpose with positive results.
Indian Hills Community College and Iowa Western Community College also will allocate some of the grant to stipends and scholarships for students in order to relieve some of their financial burdens while they try to earn their certifications.
Dreaden said costs of new tools and even certification examinations can be a barrier for some students, especially if they’re handling housing and food costs alongside them, and the college wants to offer support where it can.
Like Townsend, Dreaden has personal ties to her passion. Growing up with her father and grandfather both involved in aviation mechanics, she knows firsthand the career’s benefits, but she also knows the barriers for people trying to get their start in the industry. Being able to help students receive the tools and access they need to thrive is important, especially in an industry where the college “can’t give them enough people,” she said.
Beth Elman, marketing executive director for Iowa Lakes Community College, said even better than receiving the funds is seeing the passion in students as they experience the college’s programming.
“It’s exciting that we’re able to have those funds to help catapult the lives of future students, and I think that that’s what these grants really mean,” Elman said. “They’re investing in our program, but really, they’re investing in our future and the future of our students.” Find this story at Iowa Capital Dispatch , which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c (3) public charity.