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“One of the things that is exciting about this program,\nis to see the caliber of talent that comes here,” said RFA Board Member\nand daughter of a Tuskegee Airman Anne Palmer. “The unique piece of the\nequation is that many of them are the exact same ages of the original Tuskegee\nAirmen heroes. It’s incredible to watch these students blossom throughout their\ntime at the academy and realize the opportunities and possibilities for\nthemselves. That’s why we do what we do.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RFA, based at the New York Stewart International Airport, is\nan all-volunteer program that uses aviation as an aspirational platform to\nrecruit, develop, expose and place underrepresented talent in life-changing\njobs and careers. The academy’s core program focuses on the need to increase\ndiversity within the aviation industry and offers training free of cost to\nparticipants. RFA strives to increase the percentage of minority aviators from\nthe less than 2% of aviators in the military and the commercial space, to at\nleast 4% in the next 10 years through its efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The students came from cities across the country and St.\nCroix in the U.S. Virgin Islands to participate in the 10-month program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Being able to fly any day is always a great\nopportunity and you can never take it for granted,” said RFA graduate,\nJarious Gordon. “If you do what you love, you never have to work a day in\nyour life and that’s how I feel about aviation. In our own way, we are\ntrailblazers just like the Tuskegee Airmen. We give back and motivate others to\ncontinue their aviation careers.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The timing of the graduation marks the 80th anniversary of\nthe first graduating class of Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I want this opportunity for other students like me\nbecause I know the journey of pursuing a career in aviation is difficult,”\nsaid RFA graduate and flight instructor Mya Coley. “It’s emotional because\ngrowing up I was told all the time that I need to forget about my dream and\nthat women like me, African American women, aren’t supposed to be pilots. We\nhold the Tuskegee Airmen history on our shoulders and that’s a big name to\ncarry and follow-up on. It means a lot to me that I’m able to continue their\nlegacy and that I get to open the door even wider for others that want to be a\npart of the aviation industry.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n