16 March 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Drones are revolutionizing how businesses operate.
Drones 4 Girls introduces young females to booming opportunities involving the devices.
“It feels like STEM, and tech in particular, is not necessarily a place where girls are encouraged to go,” said Ingrid Green, executive director of Drones 4 Girls.
Green is clearing away barriers.
“It’s not an industry or a field where there are a lot of Latinas and Black American girls who are doing tech-related things,” said Green. “Me being a Black girl, I’m just, I’m not going to leave them behind.”
She’s putting tech into the hands of students as ideas spark in their minds.
“Think about if you were being paid to do this,” said Precious Smith, a teacher at Marshall Middle School.
“For 30 minutes, you can make $800 taking aerial photos, for 30 minutes,” said Smith.
“I want to fly them and take pictures and videos,” said Lexie, an eighth grader at Marshall Middle School.
“I’m all about the money,” said Oryania, an eighth grader at Marshall Middle School.
“Girls need to know they have more opportunities,” said Amali, an eighth grader at Marshall Middle School.
“Kids will know, ‘oh, a drone should do this, and a drone can do that,’ and they’re things that adults don’t necessarily think of,” said Green.
Persistence fueled by patience.
“Kids will break stuff, and they will learn stuff,” said Green.
Turning students into pilots to create visionaries.
Drones 4 Girls is looking to offer summer courses and have opportunities for adults to learn about drones, also.
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