Alaska Airlines offers new hands-on learning experience for ANSEP students

Lower Kuskokwim School District Middle School Academy students participated in the Flight Cancellation Module in Anchorage last week where they learned about aviation technology and maintenance. (Photo courtesy of ANSEP)

Alaska Airlines, a longtime strategic partner of ANSEP (Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program), is offering a new opportunity to ANSEP middle and high schoolers through hands-on simulations that will introduce students to the aviation industry and the diverse career opportunities that exist for them through the pursuit of a STEM education.

Strategic partners like Alaska Airlines are essential to the success of ANSEP by sharing their expansive knowledge with Alaska’s students and providing accessible opportunities for their futures. With Alaska Airlines’ Flight Cancellation and The Storm Modules, students will gain a deeper understanding of the aviation industry, the math and metrics behind their operations, and what goes into the day-to-day of running an airline successfully.

In the morning on February 17th, 2023, students from the Lower Kuskokwim School District, who are in Anchorage for ANSEP’s Middle School Academy, participated in the Flight Cancellation Module. The activity simulates activities in the Alaska Airlines Network Operations Center and what happens when an aircraft goes out of service due to a mechanical issue on a high value route. The goal of this module is to give ANSEP students a taste of the aviation industry, real-world time constraints and metrics Alaska Airlines uses to keep operations running.

In the afternoon, Acceleration Academy High School students took part in The Storm Module, which is a type of “choose your own adventure” scenario based on the real-life situation of a storm moving into Anchorage. There were different scenarios for “turning” a plane at the airport and students made choices from the information provided to try and depart before the storm arrives. Students worked together to find the best path forward to get the aircraft out of the gate and safely beat the storm.