Outreach program takes aim at children

Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Moody/446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

SEATTLE – Community leaders and Reservists from the 446th Airlift Wing, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, participated in a panel discussion and mentor session Feb. 6 as part of the Michael P. Anderson Memorial Scholarship, at Seattle’s Museum of Flight.

The aerospace scholarship program, honoring fallen Columbia Space Shuttle astronaut and Spokane native, Lt. Col. Michael P. Anderson, is sponsored by a private-organization headed by Maj. Gen. Harold “Mitch” Mitchell, who in his official capacity is the deputy inspector general of the Air Force, Washington, D.C.

Helping with the outreach program in their spare time are Lt. Col. Ronald Limes, a chief pilot with the 97th Airlift Squadron, and Lt. Col. Kimberly Scott, a flight commander with the 728th Airlift Squadron, both Reservists from JBLM McChord Field. The outreach program provides students with a unique opportunity to learn about the aviation industry while encouraging youths to reach for their dreams.

Students spent the day learning about flight dynamics, navigation and aircraft design with hands-on help from their mentors and other aviation experts.

“We’re hoping that children here today see Anderson as an inspiration because it’s important that we invest in them and to continue to educate the community,” said Mitchell. “Hopefully, exposure to these programs will light a fire and inspire the children to get into sciences in school so that they could be astronauts also.”

“What we’re trying to do is keep this legacy alive,” Limes said.

The thrust of the scholarship is to inspire children to do more, with Michael Anderson’s story as a backdrop, Limes said.

The support of the community and leaders such as Mitchell makes it possible to bring children in who might not have access to the technology, Limes said.

One of the ways Michael Anderson’s legacy lives on is through programs like this with the help of volunteers from the 446th Airlift Wing, Scott said.

“It’s amazing that we are able to allow the kids to have hands-on aviation experience, as well as hearing about the personal experiences of panel members,” Scott said.

“They can learn about the field of aerospace and see people who are actually doing it, people who serve their nation as well as serve their local community.”