| More than 100 Department of Aviation employees brought more than their work bags and lunches to the offices one morning last week.
April 27 marked Bring Your Child to Work Day, coinciding with the annual U.S. observance of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.
At ATL, youth ages 6-17 went on behind-the-scenes Airport tours, learned about careers in aviation and even engaged in talks with industry leaders.
The event kicked off in the North Cargo facility with a welcome from Office of Public Affairs Director Myrna White, who encouraged students to reach for their potential.
“We hope today’s event inspires the next generation of aviation professionals,” White said. “Perhaps in our midst are airline pilots, aircraft engineers, air traffic controllers and emergency rescue personnel. And who knows? Perhaps someone sitting here today will one day be the general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson.”
The last organization-wide Bring Your Child to Work Day was in 2010. This year’s revival had two versions – one hosted by DOA, the other by Tech Campus – and allowed the youth to shadow their parents on the job.
Emergency Planner Kamille McCormick was happy her 14-year-old daughter, Jade, saw McCormick’s “world” away from home.
“Before coming to ATL, I worked as an emergency planner in public health for almost 10 years,” McCormick said. “She always thought my job was boring.”
While the day didn’t change McCormick’s daughter’s plan of becoming a marine biologist, McCormick said, “[Jade] wished some of her friends who haven’t figured out what they want to be had a chance to see some of the interesting things … like the Delta Training Center.”
Customized activities included tours of the C4 Control Command Center Mobile Unit, ExpressJet, Stogner Hill, Delta Aircrew Training Center, Fire Station 24, the air traffic control tower, an interactive plane burn at the Atlanta Fire Training Center and the Delta Flight Museum.
Sparkle Rainey, 13, enjoyed the day’s fun, informative activities.
“I’d never been to the Airport before,” said Rainey, adding that she plans to research and consider aviation careers, including flight scheduler and pilot.
Data Analyst Leslie Putnam organized the Tech Campus event for 68 children and aimed to bring “excitement for learning.”
“[This] is important to our entire Tech Campus family because of the essential learning experience the flight community brings to our bright future leaders of tomorrow,” Putnam said.
Throughout the day, youth heard from a host of speakers, including Officers Lorenzo Stripling and Bernard Day from the K9/Bomb Squad; ATL Fire Training Center Program Manager Clay Garnett; Lt. Marsha Hill; Operations Supervisor and Emergency Response specialist Kevin Fuzell; Ground Transportation Operations Coordinator Shedrock Neil, and Delta Air Lines pilot Capt. Marcus Neyor.
Community Affairs Manager Tracy Gilbert, who helped organize DOA’s event, hoped the day encouraged academic and personal achievement.
“Kids today are not sure how to connect learning in the classroom to the world of work,” Gilbert said. “This life-changing opportunity provided the kids with a personal experience in aviation.” |
