Gary Chicago International Airport GYY hosted two events for StarBase on Friday June 14 and June 21 with 25 students for each event. The events were held in the Terminal then they were given a tour of the following locations here at the airport:
- ARFF Station ( Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting ) tour where ARFF Capt. Dave Denney and the rest of the staff showed the students the Fire Trucks and gave demonstrations of the fire nozzles.
- Customs and Border Protection Facility tour where CBP Inspector Doty briefed the students on Customs clearances and immigration.
- B Coleman Aviation tour where V.P. Chris Kozicki briefed the students on corporate aviation.
- Static Display of an Indiana Army National Guard Blackhawk Helicopter where 2nd Lt Kevin Harrington, who is also an Airport Operations Coordinator here at GYY, gave the students a tour inside the helicopter.
- Terminal Building tour where AvPorts Corporate Safety Manager Cliff Lee provided a Power Point session with the students on aviation careers.
At the end of every event, each student was given a certificate of graduation by Star Base Director Ava Ligon and her staff. Executive Director Duane Hayden, AvPort Airport Manager Curt Ulmen, and AvPort Assistant Airport Manager Ken Cast spoke to the students about STEM and challenged each student to continue their education and interest in aviation.
STARBASE Indiana is a premier educational program, sponsored by the Department of Defense. At STARBASE Indiana students participate in challenging "hands-on, minds-on" activities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Students interact with STEM professionals to explore careers and observe STEM applications in the real world. The program encourages students to set goals and achieve them.
