At-risk students get Luke primer

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Devante Williams
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, ARIZONA --  Most children have a dream job they want to do when they grow up. Some want to be firefighters, while some want to be veterinarians. On the other hand, there are some who only dream about making it out of a rough neighborhood or home. They are looking for a way to make a difference in their lives.

That's where the Children First Academy of Phoenix comes in. The mission is to engage students as critical thinkers, problem solvers and active citizens.

Luke Air Force Base recently hosted students from the school providing a tour of the base and a look at the different career fields that help complete the 56th Fighter Wing's mission; to train the world's greatest F-35 and F-16 fighter pilots.

The students at Children First Academy and their families are at the poverty line and a vast majority of the students are homeless. The school educates students from grades kindergarten through 8. The school aims to provide stability and hope for children who live amid a world of chaos and uncertainty.

Douglas Pike, Chief Executive Officer of Edkey, Sequoia Ranch School District, wants the children to know they can make it out of bad situations in life and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

"The military members that you saw today were raised in the same bad environment that you guys are in, and they turned out to be better than they were before they joined," he said. "I'm not saying that you have to join the military, but I am saying that life will get better. Just look up to the military members as motivation."

The students first visited the Air Traffic Control tower and saw how the Airmen keep pilots safe by managing the flow of air traffic on the ground and at 50,000. Next, they toured the 309th Fighter Squadron. Capt. Brandon Roth, 309th Fighter Squadron chief of weapons, led the group to the life support office and showed them helmets and night vision goggles. He also showed them the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The children got to experience what pilots see on a regular basis.

As the tour finale, the children also got to see America's newest fighter jet, the F-35 Lightning II, which they agreed was their favorite part of the tour. Australian Maj. Nathan Draper, 61st Aircraft Maintenance Unit partner nation liaison, gave more details about the F-35 and encouraged the students to follow their dreams.

"Whatever you want to be, you can be if you put your mind to it," he said. "Who knows, maybe one of you guys is a future F-35 pilot."

The tour was a success and the children had an amazing time visiting Luke and seeing what goes on day-to-day at Luke. Pike knows that the children will remember this day as one of best days of their lives.

"I know for a fact that the children will not forget this day," he said. "I would like to thank Luke AFB for allowing us to tour their facilities and giving us a closer look at the different career fields here on base."