Pensacola program is helping children become the next generation of drone operators

A new program is helping to prepare youth for in-demand careers as commercial drone operators.

The program, a collaboration between local nonprofits Emmaus Kidz and Wounded Eagle UAS, gives students the foundational skills to operate drones and prepares them to take a licensing test through the Federal Aviation Administration.

Joshua Compton, a 15-year-old who first took an interest in aviation after attending the Chappie James Flight Academy, said the drone program combines a passion with a potential profession.

"That could be my safety net for the future depending on how hard I work at it, and it's fun, so why not?" Compton said of joining the drone program.

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The instructor of the drone program, Joseph Dorando, originally founded Wounded Eagle UAS to help disabled service members and veterans find pathways into the commercial drone industry through training, networking and mentorship.

The mission resonated with James "J.O." Gatson, the executive director of Emmaus Kidz, a nonprofit organization that helps provide opportunities, mentoring and education to youth ages 6-21.

Gatson, a retired civilian government worker, reached out to Dorando and asked him to teach local children to fly drones. Dorando had never taught children before but accepted the challenge.

He has been teaching them since early summer and loves to see the enthusiasm in their eyes as they learn.

Dorando said he believes the job market will be drastically different in 10 years as artificial intelligence and other advancements change how people work and function in society. This could include using robots as cooks at restaurants or using technology instead of nurses to check residents' blood pressure in retirement homes.

Currently, drones are being used for a variety of mapping and photography purposes in industries like agriculture, real estate, construction and insurance.

Introducing children to drones and drone programming will help develop their science, technology, engineering and math skills, as well as prepare them to keep pace with the new technologies integrating into our everyday lives, Durando said. It will also help them become leaders with skills and opportunities they can share with others.

"These kids will go back and show their kids or their friends how to fly and do these things, and they'll say, 'Yeah, this old man taught us how to fly these things. We thought it was kind of a joke, but he was really serious,'" Gatson said jokingly.

Tamera Moore launched the Emmaus Kidz program in 1992 with a focus on teaching music, but the organization has since expanded to include an array of academic and occupational initiatives, including programs centered on the arts, hospitality and management, and the armed forces.

Over 3,500 students have gone through the program and have become doctors, nurses, school teachers, probation officers and more.

Gatson has been a part of the program since the beginning and said it's amazing to see children emerge from the program and go on to have careers and families of their own.

"It's energizing to me and it's amazing because you see something productive with the students that no one thought would happen," Gaston said. "So it energizes me to continue working with the program and seeing more kids get an opportunity."

For more information, visit emmauskidz.org.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Emmaus Kidz and Wounded Eagles UAS trains kids for jobs using drones