Local professor talks potential of Generation Z
Oct. 1—On Wednesday and Thursday, industry leaders from around Limestone County participated in a career event by North AlabamaWorks at the Von Braun Center South Hall in Huntsville.
Wayne McCain, professor of Management of Technology at Athens State University, attended the event as a vendor promoting the new Aerospace Systems Management undergraduate program.
"I think it's really important what this event does. It plants seeds, you know. You've got to start somewhere is my philosophy," said McCain. "The earlier you can plant a seed in a young person's mind, the better you are."
McCain marveled at the potential displayed by the thousands of youth at the event saying, "I feel pretty good about leaving things in their hands."
He went on to say, "I am amazed at the intelligence and interest that a lot of our youth today has."
"They get a bad rap," he explained regarding the distractions youth today face daily. "But underneath all that they are very intelligent, very smart. Maybe one of the smartest generation of kids that there has been so far."
As part of the Aerospace System Management program, Athens State is supporting STEM activities across the state.
The program is partnered with Calhoun Community College, Central Alabama Community College, and Vanderbilt sponsoring a small satellite development program, which is on the manifest to launch in the fall of 2023.
Many students who graduated out of Athens State are now employed with Blue Origin, SpaceX, Marshall Space Flight Center, United Launch Alliance, and more.
As the world enters a new space race, the program is more relevant than ever and graduates of Athens State are part of making history.
"It's just an exciting time and this new program is perfect for our area," said McCain. "Everything that was old is new again, in the space era. So we think we've got a really timely program."
After distributing more than 600 information packets to the students and school employees who came through the booth, McCain is hopeful that an impact was made on the young students who will be the aerospace scientists of the future.
"A lot of interest was from some of the instructors, and particularly the STEM coordinators at various schools. We talked with many of them and got some tentative commitments for them to get involved," he said.
McCain has an ongoing partnership with the SPARK Academy at Cowart Elementary and will be leading a workshop in November to help them build a tracking station for the satellite program.
He hopes to see more schools and teachers get involved like the SPARK Academy.
"It's exciting times," he said.
In June, The News Courier reported a High Altitude Telemetry Balloon launch by the Athens State American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Student Branch.
Since the successful launch, both balloons have been either lost at sea or swallowed by hurricanes, according to McCain. They continue to track a balloon launched by an experimenter in the Huntsville area, but it is currently stuck in the Arctic and North Russia.
They plan to launch another balloon at the November workshop.
