[St. Louis, MO – Dec. 2, 2025] – The 2025
Take Flight Forum, hosted by Bi-State Development’s St. Louis Regional
Freightway, brought together aviation leaders, educators, and students to
explore the region’s dynamic aerospace ecosystem and the expanding
opportunities for youth in aviation and STEM careers. The event, themed “STEM
to Sky!,” featured a compelling panel discussion with Dr. Jennifer Kephart,
Superintendent of the School District of Washington, Missouri, and Yolandea
Wood, President of the Hugh J. White Tuskegee Airmen Chapter and Director of
the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals’ ACE Academy serving the St.
Louis region.
Video Link to Panel Discussion
Scholarships and Opportunities Abound
The panel’s message was
clear: hands-on experiences, mentorship and
scholarships are widely available right here in the St. Louis region, but more
students need to step forward and seize them. Yolandea Wood described a suite
of programs through the Hugh J. White Tuskegee Airmen Chapter and Organization
of Black Aerospace Professionals’ ACE Academy designed to motivate youth to
achieve, including drone flights, discovery flights and immersive STEM
activities. Her outreach spans Missouri, Illinois, and beyond with different
programs geared for students in group and individual settings available for
those in elementary through college.
Many of the programs offered are often in partnership with other regional
organizations such as Gateway Eagles, Young Eagles, Elite Aviation and Gateway
Aerospace Foundation at Creve Coeur Airport. The Tuskegee Airmen chapter also
provides a free drone certification program for members and sponsors simulator
classes, making advanced aviation experiences accessible to more youth.
In continuing to support the future of aviation, the Hugh J. White
Tuskegee Airmen Chapter and Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals’ ACE
Academy offer scholarships and special programs, with both seeking more
applicants. Scholarships are for high school seniors with a 3.0 GPA who
demonstrate financial need regardless of the applicant’s racial background. Wood
noted the ACE Academy has 30 slots in the regional area but the maximum she has
had sign up is 22; and while she sends out 150 application forms annually for
youth to pursue the Tuskegee Airmen’s scholarship, last year, she had just
seven students apply.
“I have money, but if you don’t apply, you get nothing. So please
come up. There are lots of opportunities out there—what we need are individuals
to participate, individuals to volunteer as mentors,” Wood emphasized.
Support from the start helps to set graduates of these programs up
to go on to impressive achievements, including internships at airports in the
Caribbean, acceptance to West Point (the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory
School), joining the Air National Guard, and pursuing university studies in
aviation and engineering. Many return to mentor new participants, multiplying
the impact. “If you help one individual, they will not take that role alone.
They take their best friend. So, if you help one, you’ve really helped two,”
Wood noted.
Building Pathways and Partnerships
Jennifer Kephart highlighted the School District of Washington’s
SOAR into STEM program, which partners with local industries and the Wings of
Hope organization to provide students with real-world aviation experiences.
“Our mission is to inspire the next generation of aviators and STEM leaders
through hands-on learning, real-world experiences, and community partnerships
that connect students with future aviation career opportunities,” said Kephart.
The program is open to students from across Franklin and Warren
counties, with sessions held at the Washington, Mo., airport and in district
facilities. Each cohort includes about 30 students, and the program is fully
immersive, covering not just piloting but also maintenance and engineering.
Mentors from the aviation community join students every Saturday during the six-week
program, providing guidance and networking opportunities. Partners include the
School District of Washington, the local Chamber of Commerce, City of
Washington, Downtown Washington, Sonika, GH Tools, Bugeye, Generation Flying
Club, and the Helme Foundation (which provided a $10,000 grant this year). The
program also collaborates with Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter
32 and Troy EAA for discovery flights.
Though only in its third year, the Washington SOAR into STEM program
has already helped students identify preferred career pathways, with several
pursuing aeronautical engineering at Missouri S&T in Rolla and aviation
maintenance at Missouri State Tech. Alumni frequently return to mentor current
students, and the program’s reach continues to grow through career fairs and
collaborations with area colleges, such as the University of Missouri – St.
Louis (UMSL).
Kephart also discussed the Connect Washington program she is
leading for the School District of Washington to provide apprenticeships and
internships for students, and essential skills training from pre-K through 12th
grade. A key focus is to connect junior and senior students with their
workforce passion and interest, whether that's aviation, culinary or any other
career pathway. She said that through the Four Rivers Career Center, they lead
the state in apprenticeship opportunities with over 150 students out in the
business community. “We are connecting students with apprenticeships,
internships, and client-connected projects, making them more marketable in the
workforce,” Kephart said.
Collaboration and Regional Impact
The forum, which was the fourth annual hosted by the Freightway, also
reconvened the directors of the five busiest airports in the region—St. Louis
Lambert International Airport, St. Louis Downtown Airport, MidAmerica St. Louis
Airport, Spirit of St. Louis Airport and St. Louis Regional Airport. The
directors shared updates on recent developments and future plans, underscoring
the region’s continued growth and commitment to aviation excellence. They were
also available to chat with students in the audience who were thrilled with the
opportunity to make professional connections and learn about the depth of opportunities
available in the region’s aviation sector.
Mary Lamie, Executive Vice President of Multimodal Enterprises for
Bi-State Development, moderated the program showcasing the importance of
collaboration among schools, businesses and aviation organizations and further
underscored the potential for bright futures originating in the St. Louis
region.
“Our region is home to more
than 60 aerospace manufacturing businesses that together employ over 18,000
people with an average annual salary exceeding $133,000,” Lamie said. She added
that, over the past five years, aerospace manufacturing employment year has
grown by 7%, outpacing the national growth rate of just over 4%. Beyond that,
nearly 331,000 people work in industries that support aerospace manufacturing. She
noted the region's concentration of aerospace jobs is nearly four times the
national average and productivity per worker is more than 5% higher than the
national benchmark.
“All of this helps explain
why the region continues to attract investment,” said Lamie, who also leads the
St. Louis Regional Aerospace and Aviation Task Force. “More than $5 billion in
projects recently completed or underway are strengthening our airports,
expanding manufacturing capacity, and creating even more high-quality jobs. Forums
like this play a vital role in fostering collaboration and showcasing both the
investments and growth occurring at our region’s busiest airports and the
innovative programs helping to inspire the next generation of aerospace and
aviation professionals.”
About St. Louis Regional Freightway
Established as the St. Louis region’s authority
for coordinating support for industrial businesses and the logistics
infrastructure they depend on, the St. Louis Regional Freightway (the
Freightway) provides site selection and business assistance to manufacturing,
logistics and multimodal transportation companies and their service providers.
As an enterprise of Bi-State Development, the Freightway partners with public
sector and private industry businesses to advocate for infrastructure
development that supports the movement of freight, leads initiatives to grow
the region’s talent pool, and plays a critical role in marketing the region as
a world-class manufacturing and distribution cluster within the City of St.
Louis and seven adjacent counties in Missouri and Illinois. To learn more,
visit TheFreightway.com.
The students and their families gathered in the Elite Aviation hangar Saturday morning in two groups (8:30 and 10:00) for their information sessions and flight assignments. Karl Smith opened the day with encouraging words about the opportunities available in aviation, including the upcoming Spirit of St. Louis Airshow and the summer camp.
