Greater Lakes Region Children’s Fund helps ACE Academy inspire futures in aviation, STEM

LACONIA — Hayden Cardinal is exploring microbiology as a junior at Laconia High School.

Mileydi Jaynes, a sophomore at Winnisquam Regional High School, is building leadership skills through Civil Air Patrol.

Soleil Lamar, a young woman from the Northern Mariana Islands, has entered the United States Naval Academy with hopes of becoming a military pilot.

Funding from the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Fund is helping change the lives of these young people — and many others — by opening doors to STEM-related careers through WinnAero’s Aerospace Career Education Academy at Laconia Airport, one of the many nonprofit programs the fund supports.

Dan Caron, WinnAero’s longtime director of educational services and ACE Academy director, said the academy was designed to provide students with a window into opportunities they might not otherwise encounter.

Held each summer at Laconia Airport, ACE Academy introduces students in grades 3 through 12 to aviation, aerospace and STEM careers through hands-on activities, guest speakers, field trips, simulators and orientation flights.

“Most students are getting exposed to careers they wouldn’t be able to see otherwise,” Caron said. “They get to talk to pilots, air traffic controllers, engineers, medical professionals, drone operators, airport planners and many other professionals connected to aviation.”

This summer, more than 90 students from across New Hampshire are enrolled in 13 academy sessions. Programs range from aerospace engineering and manufacturing to air traffic control, search and rescue, space science, drone operations, aviation medicine and pre-ground school instruction.

High school participants can also earn one-half elective credit through New Hampshire’s Learn Everywhere program.

Caron, a retired technology and engineering educator with more than 45 years of experience in middle and high school classrooms, has helped lead ACE Academy since its early years. He says one of the program’s greatest strengths is introducing students to careers they may never have considered through a hands-on approach to learning.

“There are a lot of careers related to aviation that students might never have thought about,” Caron said.

Those careers, far beyond the cockpit, include aerospace engineering, emergency services, aviation medicine, drone technology, navigation systems and civil engineering.

Cardinal, the Laconia High School junior, has attended 10 ACE Academy sessions over the years. This summer, he is participating in the St. Paul’s School Advanced Studies Program and exploring a future in microbiology and other highly technical fields.

Caron says Gilford Public Works Director Meghan Theriault, a civil engineer, is another example of the type of role model students benefit from meeting.

“Girls need to see somebody doing these jobs to realize they can do them, too,” Caron says.

WinnAero was founded in 2009 by Lakes Region attorney and developer Bill Seed of Gilford.

According to Don Morrissey, WinnAero’s treasurer and a founding member, the organization’s mission is to help young people discover educational and career opportunities while building confidence and skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“I am inspired by helping kids learn more about aviation, as well as the ever-changing and improving technologies available in this field,” Morrissey, a retired military pilot, said.

Whether they become pilots, engineers, scientists, military officers or leaders in other professions, ACE Academy provides students with something invaluable: the opportunity to discover what is possible.

“Sometimes all it takes is one experience or one person to open a student’s eyes to a future they hadn’t considered before,” Caron said.

To learn more, visit winnaero.org. To learn more about the Children’s Fund, visit ChildrensFundNH.org