The DreamLaunch Tour has two goals:
- To inspire those that haven’t ever considered an aviation career to potentially explore it
- To support those considering an aviation career and expose them to resources they usually don’t know exist
The tour’s visit to Hampton University in Virginia was the latter.
Hampton University is an unknown gem in terms of aviation universities. Ranked one of the Top 25 aviation programs out of 325 programs in the nation, the program is a great option for students in the Mid-Atlantic area of the country.
Despite being a great value, it is still expensive for some students that dream of becoming involved in aviation, whether it’s owning a business, working as an air traffic controller, or transcending into the flight levels as a professional pilot. The goal was to help them discover millions of dollars in external funding available to help make that dream feasible.
A great place to start that discovery process: AviationStart.org, which helps connect aspiring aviation students and professionals to more than $20 million in scholarships, training programs, and career pathways to turn their aviation dreams into reality.
Question of the Day
Given the amount of students enrolled in Hampton’s Aviation Management Program, I wasn’t surprised many questions were centered around my role as the president of Ascension Aircraft, an aircraft sales and leasing company. My first aircraft leasing project was actually done under an internship while I was in college. (Yes, I made a little bit of money while earning college credit.) Needless to say, this caught the attention of more than a few students.
“How did you do that?” they asked.
My advice: Figure out a segment of the industry that you enjoy, find a mentor who is successful in that field, reach out, and send a pitch. You might be surprised with their answer.
You can read all of the Where’s Jamail? posts here.
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