Jackson State University News June 12, 2018 Pilot flies the friendly skies, teaches students about STEM Audible gasps of disbelief fill the auditorium of the Jackson State University College of Science Engineering and Technology. Capt. Barrington Irving, 34, has just told a group of all-male students, from Jackson Public Schools, that he declined a football scholarship to the University of Florida. "It was actually the best decision I ever made," he says with a smile, adding that only two of his fellow high school athletes made it to the NFL, but their careers ended after 2 ½ years. By choosing a different path, Irving says he has been able to see the world and do a variety of things he had not foreseen. At the age of 23, he set the Guinness World Record for being the first and youngest African-American pilot to fly around the world in 97 days, logging 147 flight hours and making 27 stops in 13 countries. On Friday, he spoke with over 100 campers in the HBCU's grant-funded Verizon Innovative Learning Minority Male Program, which instructs male students of color in STEM disciplines five days per week, eight hours per day throughout the summer. "I think it is critically important for our black boys to see African-American men excelling in STEM specifically to help them realize they have the potential to do the same," says Dr. Tameika Bradley, interim associate dean of the College of Education. She shares that the event is a result of collaboration between the Verizon Foundation and Irving's Experience Aviation - a nonprofit organization dedicated to bridging the gap between students and STEM awareness by using aeronautics. "Jackson State is one of 16 Verizon learning innovate sites for minority males. We are one of the first four schools awarded," said Bradley, who is also the principal investigator of the grant. Mentorship is key Born in Jamaica, Irving talks to the kids about growing up poor in the neighborhoods of Liberty City and Opa-Locka - arguably two of the most violent and crime-ridden areas in Miami, Florida. Upon meeting Capt. Gary Robinson, a "swagged out" United Airlines pilot, life changed for the high school fullback. Robinson asked the youth, who could not stop staring at his flight attire if he were interested in becoming a pilot. "The first words out of my mouth were: 'Sir, I'm not smart enough to fly an airplane,'" he tells the group. But when Irving learned that airplane pilots could make $117 an hour, he was intrigued. Robinson then volunteered to mentor Irving once a month during 30-minute phone conversations. It is a relationship that remains today. SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta, GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org/ sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org%3cmailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org>> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/