Discover how the 2025 Take Flight Forum, hosted by Bi-State Development’s St. Louis Regional Freightway, united aviation leaders, educators, and students to explore the region’s aerospace ecosystem and the expanding opportunities for youth in aviation and STEM careers.
[St. Louis, MO – Dec. 3, 2025] – The 2025 Take Flight Forum, hosted by Bi-State Development’s St. Louis Regional Freightway, brought together aviation leaders, educators, and students to explore the region’s dynamic aerospace ecosystem and the expanding opportunities for youth in aviation and STEM careers. The event, themed “STEM to Sky!,” featured a compelling panel discussion with Dr. Jennifer Kephart, Superintendent of the School District of Washington, Missouri, and Yolandea Wood, President of the Hugh J. White Tuskegee Airmen Chapter and Director of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals’ ACE Academy serving the St. Louis region.
Scholarships and Opportunities Abound
The panel’s message was clear: hands-on experiences, mentorship and scholarships are widely available right here in the St. Louis region, but more students need to step forward and seize them. Yolandea Wood described a suite of programs through the Hugh J. White Tuskegee Airmen Chapter and Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals’ ACE Academy designed to motivate youth to achieve, including drone flights, discovery flights and immersive STEM activities. Her outreach spans Missouri, Illinois, and beyond with different programs geared for students in group and individual settings available for those in elementary through college.
Many of the programs offered are often in partnership with other regional organizations such as Gateway Eagles, Young Eagles, Elite Aviation and Gateway Aerospace Foundation at Creve Coeur Airport. The Tuskegee Airmen chapter also provides a free drone certification program for members and sponsors simulator classes, making advanced aviation experiences accessible to more youth.
In continuing to support the future of aviation, the Hugh J. White Tuskegee Airmen Chapter and Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals’ ACE Academy offer scholarships and special programs, with both seeking more applicants. Scholarships are for high school seniors with a 3.0 GPA who demonstrate financial need regardless of the applicant’s racial background. Wood noted the ACE Academy has 30 slots in the regional area but the maximum she has had sign up is 22; and while she sends out 150 application forms annually for youth to pursue the Tuskegee Airmen’s scholarship, last year, she had just seven students apply.
“I have money, but if you don’t apply, you get nothing. So please come up. There are lots of opportunities out there—what we need are individuals to participate, individuals to volunteer as mentors,” Wood emphasized.
Support from the start helps to set graduates of these programs up to go on to impressive achievements, including internships at airports in the Caribbean, acceptance to West Point (the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School), joining the Air National Guard, and pursuing university studies in aviation and engineering. Many return to mentor new participants, multiplying the impact. “If you help one individual, they will not take that role alone. They take their best friend. So, if you help one, you’ve really helped two,” Wood noted.
Building Pathways and Partnerships
Jennifer Kephart highlighted the School District of Washington’s SOAR into STEM program, which partners with local industries and the Wings of Hope organization to provide students with real-world aviation experiences. “Our mission is to inspire the next generation of aviators and STEM leaders through hands-on learning, real-world experiences, and community partnerships that connect students with future aviation career opportunities,” said Kephart.
The program is open to students from across Franklin and Warren counties, with sessions held at the Washington, Mo., airport and in district facilities. Each cohort includes about 30 students, and the program is fully immersive, covering not just piloting but also maintenance and engineering. Mentors from the aviation community join students every Saturday during the six-week program, providing guidance and networking opportunities. Partners include the School District of Washington, the local Chamber of Commerce, City of Washington, Downtown Washington, Sonika, GH Tools, Bugeye, Generation Flying Club, and the Helme Foundation (which provided a $10,000 grant this year). The program also collaborates with Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 32 and Troy EAA for discovery flights.
Though only in its third year, the Washington SOAR into STEM program has already helped students identify preferred career pathways, with several pursuing aeronautical engineering at Missouri S&T in Rolla and aviation maintenance at Missouri State Tech. Alumni frequently return to mentor current students, and the program’s reach continues to grow through career fairs and collaborations with area colleges, such as the University of Missouri – St. Louis (UMSL).
Kephart also discussed the Connect Washington program she is leading for the School District of Washington to provide apprenticeships and internships for students, and essential skills training from pre-K through 12th grade. A key focus is to connect junior and senior students with their workforce passion and interest, whether that’s aviation, culinary or any other career pathway. She said that through the Four Rivers Career Center, they lead the state in apprenticeship opportunities with over 150 students out in the business community. “We are connecting students with apprenticeships, internships, and client-connected projects, making them more marketable in the workforce,” Kephart said.
Collaboration and Regional Impact
The forum, which was the fourth annual hosted by the Freightway, also reconvened the directors of the five busiest airports in the region—St. Louis Lambert International Airport, St. Louis Downtown Airport, MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, Spirit of St. Louis Airport and St. Louis Regional Airport. The directors shared updates on recent developments and future plans, underscoring the region’s continued growth and commitment to aviation excellence. They were also available to chat with students in the audience who were thrilled with the opportunity to make professional connections and learn about the depth of opportunities available in the region’s aviation sector.
Mary Lamie, Executive Vice President of Multimodal Enterprises for Bi-State Development, moderated the program showcasing the importance of collaboration among schools, businesses and aviation organizations and further underscored the potential for bright futures originating in the St. Louis region.
“Our region is home to more than 60 aerospace manufacturing businesses that together employ over 18,000 people with an average annual salary exceeding $133,000,” Lamie said. She added that, over the past five years, aerospace manufacturing employment year has grown by 7%, outpacing the national growth rate of just over 4%. Beyond that, nearly 331,000 people work in industries that support aerospace manufacturing. She noted the region’s concentration of aerospace jobs is nearly four times the national average and productivity per worker is more than 5% higher than the national benchmark.
“All of this helps explain why the region continues to attract investment,” said Lamie, who also leads the St. Louis Regional Aerospace and Aviation Task Force. “More than $5 billion in projects recently completed or underway are strengthening our airports, expanding manufacturing capacity, and creating even more high-quality jobs. Forums like this play a vital role in fostering collaboration and showcasing both the investments and growth occurring at our region’s busiest airports and the innovative programs helping to inspire the next generation of aerospace and aviation professionals.”
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