Sharks in the Cargo Hold: 150 Area Students Discover the Jobs Beyond the Cockpit at Reagan National
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's workforce expo brought 150 high school students from DC, Alexandria and Fairfax County onto the tarmac at Reagan National - past the fire station, the police equipment and a lesson in live cargo that none of them expected.
One hundred fifty high school students from around the capital region spent Wednesday learning that an airport runs on far more than pilots. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's workforce development expo at Reagan National Airport gave students from Alexandria City Public Schools, D.C. Public Schools and Fairfax County Public Schools a closer look at airport operations, the airport fire station and police equipment, and the people who work in aviation, tourism and public safety.
The day's most repeated lesson arrived early: live cargo can include sharks, which travel in the cargo hold - a discovery that startled one D.C. senior on the tour. Students went out on the tarmac, rode a bus to where the airport's fire and police departments are stationed, watched a demonstration by a drug-sniffing dog, and heard panel discussions featuring workers in engineering, finance and the trades, along with representatives from rental car companies, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration. Hands-on trade work drew particular interest, including technician and electrician jobs on the airplanes and on the vehicles that keep the airport moving.
The Airports Authority runs the expo to introduce students to careers they might never have considered, and to connect them with internships, part-time jobs and entry-level positions across the airport. Its workforce development program brings hundreds of local high school students to Reagan National and Dulles International each cycle. For at least one student on Wednesday's tour, the day worked as intended: she left considering a career in airport law enforcement.
