It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Tammera Holmes! Perhaps it’s because I knew her when…when she was just starting her career, and it’s exciting to see how her passion for “getting kids high” (exposing them to careers in aviation, their first flight, and education to actually pursue a career) has evolved into a business model that is impacting young people’s lives in a positive, profound way.
You can’t help but admire Holme’s ability to take a commitment and vision and turn it into action–not only in terms of logistics (e.g. connecting her STEM education curriculum with an established after school program, After School Matters to make it happen), but in in connecting to corporate goals and funding sources (a la the likes of major funding from Boeing and United), and to measuring things in long-term outcomes (from kids participating in a after school program to going to college to having a dedicated, sponsored internship already established via a corporate sponsorship).
Wow! And then to find out she’s a wife and mom, too…clearly a superwoman!
“My kids inspire me to do this work,” says Holmes. Holmes talks about going into her two year old daughter’s bedroom and seeing that her daughter had laid out her books end to end across the floor, with a toy airplane at the start. “If my two year old daughter understood airport planning, I knew we could start teaching kids at a young age about all aspects of aviation.”
Hear the full interview with Holmes below, and learn how to get involved and support the great work of the Aerostar Avion Institute.
