HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) -
Officials at Redstone Arsenal reached out to Tennessee Valley students to teach them about possible careers behind Redstone's gates.
"To learn about the jobs on the arsenal is amazing," said Cailin Simpson, a sophomore at New Century High School.
Simpson and a group of students from various Valley high schools spent a week touring Redstone and meeting the professionals who work on post.
Arsenal leaders chose the students for the third annual "Adventures at AMCOM" program through a competitive application process. Each student submitted an essay response about their desire to learn more about Redstone careers.
The program's goal is to show the students how an education translates into life after college.
"At some point, all these guys who work on this program did sit in a classroom and draw on a chalkboard," said Lt. Col. Scott Anderson, Product Manager for Ground Maneuver Unmanned Aerial Systems. "But now they're out here and they get to do this cool kind of stuff."
Anderson gave the students a chance to see a Shadow UAS launch and tour their command station. He said the program allows students to see how they can turn a college degree into a career.
"They just read about unmanned systems in the newspaper or see it on TV, but then out here they actually get to see it work," he said.
Cailin said the program has changed her perspective about living and working in her hometown.
"I've wanted to go to the Air force Academy since about the beginning of my freshman year, and I was like, 'I never want to come back to Huntsville. I never want to live here again,'" she said. "But now that I see the jobs on the arsenal I definitely would consider coming back."
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