MILWAUKEE — Meteorologist Brendan Johnson was in the community Thursday at the Civil Air Patrol hangar at Timmerman Airport, where more than 20 Milwaukee-area high school students will gather for a hands-on program focused on aerospace and aviation careers.
The weeklong summer camp was organized through a partnership between 100 Black Men of Milwaukee Inc., Milwaukee Public Schools and New Beginnings Aerospace Ministry. Some of the students attending have never been on a plane but expressed interest in the aviation field.
WATCH: Milwaukee organizations team up to introduce youth to aviation, aerospace careers
Joseph Addison, who serves as president of 100 Black Men of Milwaukee Inc., said the organization has been working in the community since 1989 with a focus on exposing young people to careers they may not have previously encountered.
"The 100 Black Men of Milwaukee is a mentoring organization. We've been in Milwaukee ever since 1989," Addison said. "Our goal is to expose the youth in the community to careers and avenues that they had not been exposed to before."
Addison said the aviation industry offers more opportunities than many people realize.
"There's so many careers in aviation people really don't know about," he added.
Addison said the lack of aviation resources in the region was part of the motivation for bringing the program to Milwaukee.
"There's really nothing in southeastern Wisconsin outside of EAA," Addison said. "So we've partnered with MPS and New Beginnings to say, hey, let's bring this event to Milwaukee."
Charles Allen of New Beginnings Aerospace Ministry said the organization has been exposing young people to aviation careers since 2007, with a particular focus on helping students become pilots.
"New Beginnings has been in existence since 2007. Initially it started as a ministry for at-risk youth, our children," Allen said. "And since that time we've been exposing children to the career fields in aviation, but most importantly we've been exposing them to becoming pilots, learning a lot about aviation and perhaps becoming professional pilots."
Allen said the organization originally operated out of Waukesha Airport before relocating part of its operations to Timmerman Airport in 2023.
"We moved part of our operations here to Timmerman simply because the need was really, really great here," he added.
Since its founding, New Beginnings Aerospace Ministry has helped at least 88 young people earn their private pilot licenses, with many receiving the certification before graduating from high school. Allen said community donations have made it possible to cover the significant costs associated with flight training.
"There's a cost associated with aviation, and it is huge," Allen said. "And that cost we've been able to supply that need through the very, very generous, kind donations from the community."
The program is scheduled to be held indoors due to low air quality conditions outside.
To learn more about 100 Black Men of Milwaukee Inc., click here. For more information about New Beginnings Aerospace Ministry, click here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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