"Grow Your Own" students learn aircraft maintenance

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ariel D. Delgado
  • Airman 1st Class Ariel D. Delgado
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Students from the Advance Technology class of the Grow Your Own program at Del Rio High School visited Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, Feb. 4.

The program is an aviation technology program that gives the Del Rio High School students hands-on training on aircraft servicing and maintenance.

"The program trains school students on maintenance duties on the flight line and maintenance duties inside the hangers," said Danny Williams, 47th Student Squadron director of simulator and academic operations.

The program's goal is to train and prepare students for an aircraft maintenance career at Laughlin. Hundreds of students received full-time jobs on-base after graduating the program.

"The hopes are that once the students graduate high school, they will be hired here and help fill the important gap in our maintenance capability," said Williams. "Aircraft maintenance is a necessity here. Laughlin is a pilot training base, and if you can't fix the aircraft, you can't fly the aircraft."

Del Rio High School and Laughlin collaborated to initiate the aircraft maintenance course in 1991. The course starts at the freshman level with the Principles class and ends with the Advance Technology class at the junior and senior level.

"I give very intensive training; I even made a new curriculum when I took over the class," said Ruben S. Resendez, Del Rio High School Aircraft Technology instructor and Air Force veteran. "Normally, my students have a hard time the first two years of the course. I can tell they try to listen, but I know they don't understand it until they come out to the base, seeing and working hands-on. Every lesson I go over eventually starts to click for them."

This course can be challenging for the students, considering that planes aren't usually a part of a child's life as opposed to a car, but Resendez is dedicated to teaching his students.

"I have 30 years of experience with military aircraft," said Resendez. "I take pride in instructing these students on what could potentially be their future career."