Article by Rachel Siegel ’20:
On Monday, October 29, the Cradle of Aviation hosted its annual STEM career expo for high school students looking to learn more about the world of STEM and its viable career options beyond college.
Two dozen Kellenberg students took a brief bus ride over to the museum, where they were first presented with a short talk by Jim Brundige, the current director of East Hampton Airport. From there on, the students had the opportunity to visit stations scattered throughout the museum’s floor exhibits.
Students not only had the ability to meet and talk with companies such as Microsoft, JetBlue, Designatronics, and PSEG, but also colleges such as Molloy College and Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology to discover prospective jobs in the wide spectrum of STEM opportunities.
The students were able to explore military, health, and exploratory science careers through a presentation by the 106th Rescue Wing, team-building activities with Northwell Health, and experiments with Brookhaven National Laboratory. For juniors Rachel Siegel ’20 and Paul Bartolemea ’20, the career expo was an especially beneficial experience. Rachel commented, “As someone looking to pursue commercial aviation, getting to meet my ideally future employer—JetBlue—in a museum that I practically grew up in was a dream come true.” Paul added, “Seeing potential employers and what they and colleges look for in hires was very useful.”
The Cradle of Aviation Career Expo proved to be a STEM trip like no other, providing students with vital information that could potentially pave the way to discover their dream occupation in the field of science.