Barrington Irving to Speak at Chevron-City of Miami DISCOVER AVIATION Graduation

OPA-LOCKA, Fla., Aug. 10 /PRNewswire/ — On Tuesday, August 11th at 10:00 a.m. at Miami Executive Aviation, Opa-locka Airport, 50 middle and high school students will graduate from a nine-week DISCOVER AVIATION program directed by record-setting pilot Barrington Irving and co-sponsored by Chevron and the City of Miami Parks and Recreation Department. Students will display their aviation and aerospace projects at the event, which will be attended by business, community, and political leaders. Captain Irving will address the students, and Robert Taylor, Branded Programs and Communications Manager at Chevron Global Aviation, will present a $1,000 scholarship to a student who has shown exceptional progress during the program. The scholarship will enable the student to attend the 2010 EAA Air Academy, a one-week aviation education camp experience in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Last summer, Experience Aviation’s Build & Soar program gave Miami high school students the opportunity to construct an aircraft that Captain Irving piloted on its test flight. This year, the 9-week DISCOVER AVIATION program enabled 50 students to pursue more than 20 different subjects including aviation history, rocketry, robotics, and social and resume-writing skills. Five students also took flight training courses and studied the construction and maintenance of aircraft. All the students practiced operating a Flight Simulator and went on field trips to local businesses. They were also visited by aviation professionals, including Kim Morrison, Product Integrity Specialist at Chevron, who spoke to students about her job and career path.

“This has been a once-in-a-lifetime summer for these students; not only have they Discovered Aviation but they have discovered themselves in the process. This opportunity has allowed them to soar above previous expectations. We need to continue to offer engaging programs and expose the youth in the City of Miami to role models like Barrington Irving, and the successful path he has taken, as an example of what they to can accomplish,” said Mr. Ernest Burkeen, Parks Director in the City of Miami Parks and Recreation Department.

Stan Luckoski, Public Affairs Manager-East at Chevron, said, “Chevron is proud to sponsor this community engagement program that serves as a bridge between aviation, education, and industry.”

“We are also proud to continue our longstanding support of Barrington and his mission to educate and inspire youth,” said Robert J. Taylor, Manager of Branded Programs and Communications at Chevron Global Aviation.

Both Build & Soar and DISCOVER AVIATION were designed and directed by Captain Irving, who became the youngest person, at 23, and first black pilot to fly solo around the world in 2007. He founded the nonprofit Experience Aviation, Inc. in 2005 to motivate youth and address the shortage of technically skilled professionals in aviation, aerospace, and related fields. In the past 4 years, the Experience Aviation team, together with middle and high-school educators, community groups, and corporate partners, has provided aviation-related summer and after-school programs designed to build students’ math, science, reading, and problem-solving skills.

For more information, visit www.experienceaviation.org.

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SOURCE Experience Aviation