No longer up in the air: High school students find meaningful career guidance at Aero-Student Day
Friday, January 24, 2025
Media Contact: Mack Burke | Associate Director of Media Relations | 405-744-5540 | editor@okstate.edu
A controlled crash landing into a Burger King drive-through, a World War II-era plane making a one-wheel landing, and a lifesaving mid-air refueling over hostile territory.
Those are just a few of the stories a panel of accomplished aerospace professionals shared with hundreds of high school students from across the state Thursday as Oklahoma State University hosted the third annual Thunder Aerospace Day at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Those stories came in response to a question about the panelists’ wildest aviation stories, but the real takeaway for the aspiring youths was that no matter their chosen field, the aerospace industry has a place for them.
“I think hearing from different panelists and being able to talk to different industry partners and the university programs helps students open up their minds to the possibilities of things that they probably didn't consider before,” said Dr. Kat Gardner-Vandy, OSU professor of aviation and space.
“It's fun to explain to students that you don't have to choose one specific thing to be part of the aerospace industry. You can think of what you like and what you enjoy, and see how that feeds in, and you absolutely will find a place in the aerospace industry. It’s not just about pilots. The industry needs physicists, chemists, engineering, design work, writers, mathematics, you name it.”
Led by Gardner-Vandy, the panel discussion focused on the many career paths within
aerospace and aviation and explored the ins and outs of military, public sector and
private sector career paths. Other panelists included:
- Col. Matthew Ghormley, commander of the 507th Air Refueling Wing, Tinker Air Force Base and American Airlines pilot
- Dwain Davis, FAA Academy Air Traffic Division manager
- Kellie Hudson, air boss for Hudson Airshows
Following the panel discussion, the Paycom Center concourse was inundated with potential aerospace companies and institutions eager to engage with high schoolers about their future, be that in the cockpit, an air-traffic control tower or any number of other roles that may not readily come to mind when talking about aerospace.
Patrick Smith, manager of prospective student services at the OSU College of Education and Human Sciences, said he’s seen a surge of interest among high school students about aerospace careers.
“I'm in awe of what these AOPA [Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association] high school programs are doing in terms of connecting Oklahoma students to opportunities that they may not have known existed without those programs being in place,” Smith said. “It's always amazing the new growth that we see with interest in our aviation programs. Certainly, the professional pilot route is always going to be very popular, but we're starting to see more students who are interested in our aerospace security, aviation management options within that aerospace administration and operations degree. These young people are getting connected with the second leading industry in the state of Oklahoma.”
One of those students is Silo High School student Zaman Daniyal, who eagerly signed up to make the three-hour trip for the second straight year. He’s been locked in on becoming a pilot, but for him, the draw is in finding clarity about what comes next.
“I'm looking into a pilot career, and I’m generally looking to get a better understanding of it, so this is a great opportunity,” he said.
Another student who made the inter-county trek to Oklahoma City was Norman High School freshman Andrew Putman. He said the event provided excellent guidance for plotting his career, which he believes will ultimately be in aerospace.
“It's all pretty interesting,” he said. “There are a lot of career choices, and the fact that someone from Little Axe, which is where I'm from, was able to get to the position where he is, is super interesting. And even though I am in Norman … you have to recognize what OSU is doing here.”
Davis is the Little Axe native from whom Putman drew inspiration. Along with Ghormley and Hudson, he encouraged students to be adaptable and remain open to new and exciting possibilities. OSU College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology representatives Danielle Miles and Jacob Smith said the expo offered an excellent opportunity to share and explore those possibilities and meet students where they are, recognizing that a campus visit isn’t always feasible.
The aerospace and defense industry is Oklahoma’s second-largest and fastest-growing industry, with over 206,000 jobs and a total of $44 billion in annual statewide economic activity. While OSU’s role in hosting the event involves student recruitment, Gardner-Vandy said the motivation for OSU to be the state’s aerospace leader runs deeper.
“As a land-grant university, OSU has a responsibility to take care of the Oklahoma communities,” she said. “And because aerospace is so ubiquitous throughout Oklahoma, it is one of the best ways that we can show the entire state that OSU is building relationships with industry partners and government and other academic institutions, and then also get students to come into that pretty early on and get them interested in it.
“I think Oklahoma State, as a land-grant university, is perfectly positioned to advance aerospace research and education in Oklahoma.”
Participating High Schools
- Enid High School
- Tupelo High School
- Silo High School
- Norman Public Schools
- Bartlesville Public Schools
- Weatherford Middle School
- Madill High School
- Indiahoma Public Schools
- Putnam City North High School
- Union Public Schools
- Broken Bow High School
- Ada High School
Participating organizations
- OSU College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology
- OSU College of Education and Human Sciences
- The Oklahoma Radio Kontrol Society (TORKS)
- Spirit Aerosystems Inc.
- Atlantic Aviation
- U.S. Air Force and Space Force
- Air Force Reserve
- Air Force Sustainment Center
- Tinker Air Force Base
- Air National Guard
- United States Army
- Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex
- Hill’s Hobbies
- OU Sooner Flight Academy
- Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology
- Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics
- FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
- Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots
- Oklahoma City Innovation District
About the Panelists
Dr. Kathryn (Kat) Gardner-Vandy
Gardner-Vandy is an assistant professor of aviation and space in the OSU College of Education and Human Sciences. As a planetary scientist and private pilot, she teaches aviation education courses to undergraduate and graduate students at OSU. A citizen of the Choctaw Nation, Gardner-Vandy is also the principal investigator of a NASA Science Activation program at OSU titled "Native Earth | Native Sky", which aims to increase the understanding of and interest in STEM fields by developing holistic curriculum that interweaves Native American stories and language with earth and space science principles.
Col. Matthew Ghormley, commander of the 507th Air Refueling Wing, Tinker AFB
Ghormley is the commander of the 507th Air Refueling Wing at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, overseeing 1,100 citizen airmen and maintaining eight KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft. He earned his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1999 and has amassed over 3,800 flight hours, including over 1,000 combat hours. In addition to his distinguished military career, Ghormley is a commercial pilot for American Airlines, utilizing his extensive aviation experience to contribute to civilian aviation.
Kellie Hudson, air boss for Hudson Airshows
Kellie Hudson was born and raised in Houston. Hudson joined the Air Force in 1996
and served 20 years as an Air Force air traffic controller, retiring from Nellis Air
Force Base in Las Vegas, where she still resides with her family.
After retirement, she served as a contract civilian air traffic controller and as
an operations manager for Amazon’s largest fulfillment center in Nevada. She has earned
a bachelor’s degree in professional aeronautics from Embry-Riddle and has a master’s
degree in business leadership from Grand Canyon University.
Hudson began her involvement in airshows in 1997, supporting aircrew hospitality and
ground operations roles. In 2018, she began her air boss journey being mentored by
some of the finest air show bosses in the industry. Since then, Hudson has controlled
more than 50 aerial events in 15 states.
Hudson has also helped produce and develop new airshows and events, writing FAA applications
and waivers, along with developing aerobatic flying display areas and Incident Action
Plans for aerial events.
Her reputation has garnered her contracts to support some of the world’s most prestigious events, including the Super Bowl, Final Four, Formula 1, Burning Man and Oshkosh.
Dwain Davis, Air Traffic Division manager, FAA Academy
Davis serves as the division manager for the Air Traffic Division at the FAA Academy
located at the FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center. Dwain has had a diverse career
within the FAA. He started his career at the FAA Logistics Center in 2001, where he
spent seven years learning various jobs and gaining valuable insights into the crucial
role played by the logistics community in supporting Air Traffic Services and FAA Technical Operations Support.
Davis later attended and completed Air Traffic Controller training and began his career
as an air traffic controller at Tulsa Riverside Tower, where he gained invaluable
experience managing a team of air traffic controllers.
A few years later, Davis accepted a position at the FAA Academy as an evaluator for the Initial Tower Qualification course. In this position, he assessed Graded Scenarios, which were integral to determining whether students completed their initial tower training course. Dwain then returned to a management role, where he steadily excelled in multiple positions within the Air Traffic Division at the FAA Academy. Since 2019, he has led the Air Traffic Division, where he has guided his team through various challenges, such as an increase in hiring requirements for new air traffic controllers and continual improvements in the training delivered by the division