OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The sky is within reach for Burke High School senior Mykayla Bartlett.
"The drones made me want to get involved because I went to open house and they were flying drones," Bartlett said. "I thought it was so fun. That's when I decided I wanted to do the drone part of it."
Now in her fourth year in the academy, Bartlett dreams of a career in the skies.
"I really want to do stuff with drones and take pictures for companies and help survey all that," Bartlett said.
Bartlett is a student in Burke's Air and Space Academy, a program for high schoolers who want to enter a specialized field like aeronautics. When she graduates, Bartlett will know how to build drones, operate them, and possibly be a certified drone pilot.
But drones are just one pathway. The academy also includes aviation maintenance, aerospace engineering, aviation management, and pilot training. Omaha Public Schools has different career academies across the district that allow students to pursue careers in education, entrepreneurship, agriculture and more.
Teacher Dara Rosenberg helps teens imagine what's possible:
"Our students are working towards so many different things," Rosenberg said. "There are so many jobs out there that in the past have not existed."
Scott Swanson is a full-time flight instructor. He graduated from the program in 2020.
"I really enjoyed the courses," Swanson said. "It got me a passion for aviation. So I went ahead and pursued it. By taking the classes over at Burke. It gave me quite a few elective credits toward UNO's aviation program. I was able to enroll as a sophomore and then graduate a year early."
Swanson is working to secure a job as an airline pilot.
"There's a lot of great opportunities."
From jetliners, airport management, or operating drones, there are jobs on the horizon for these students.
"There's so many jobs that are growing in this field," Rosenberg said. "It's a field, where these kids are going to be on the cusp of, so there's so many different opportunities."
