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Open house attracts diverse crowd
Women attempt to succeed in a male-dominated field
By Tim Esterdahl
testerda@mscd.edu

Photo by Chuck Iversen • civerse1@mscd.edu Starla Rogers dreams of becoming an astronaut one day. Rogers and her infant son were in attendance at the Aviation and Aerospace Science department’s new student orientation Friday, Aug. 18 at St. Cajetan’s Center.

On Aug. 18, the last Friday before classes began, freshmen convened inside of St. Cajetan’s Center to attend a stress-reducing open house beneath a cloudy sky without a plane in sight.

The church was abuzz with upbeat music, and adrenaline-producing videos of jets dogfighting were shown to distract the new students from the start-of-semester chaos. This multimedia display and the allure of free pastries and coffee had the desired effect.

More than 60 freshmen and their parents attended the event, which was mandatory for new aviation and aerospace students. Most of these students were male, but several people in attendance commented on the sizable group of women determined to break into the male-dominated industry.

Adrienne Bjaci was one of those women, even though she said she had never flown before or been in a plane.

“There is just something about the thrill of flying that intrigued me,” Bjaci said.

Facing even tougher odds was Starla Rogers, who brought her infant son along. She had taken some courses at CCD before dropping out.

Now she is back in college to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut. She said it was her father’s fascination with the stars that got her interested in aerospace.

“I want to be a pilot. I want to fly,” Rogers said. “I know the reality of it and I know it is going to be hard.”

Supporting these women is the newly founded Women in Aviation Mile High Chapter. Metro alumni and club president Carolyn Landron said she felt it was important to get people together on a smaller scale to face challenges in the field.

“Women can be intimidated somewhat of the male-dominated field,” Landron said. “They are also not aware of all the opportunities out there for them.”

One of the men behind the event was Metro professor Col. Bob Mauck. The open house concept began back when Mauck was chair in the late ’80s through the mid-’90s. He said he was increasingly frustrated by the number of freshmen dropping out because of the challenges of finding work in the financially slumping $7 billion aerospace industry and the increasing cost of learning to fly, which ranges from $40,000 to $70,000. He thought of his open house as a way to provide more assistance for students while they were in transition. Lacking support, the idea faded away and Mauck later left the department.

After returning as a professor in 2000, Mauck got approval to go ahead with his idea and put together the first open house in a month. Now, thanks to the growth of the event, it takes three months to set up.

Mauck sees the event as a way to help students prepare for the program and to relax.

“The open house is … to motivate students and lower their stress level,” Mauck said.

Professor Jeff Price began, emphasizing student passion, persistence and the use of available resources. Subsequent speakers presented benefits to students such as aviation clubs, internship opportunities and financial aid. Many different vendors, such as flying schools, armed forces representatives and other related groups that provide crucial services to aviation and aerospace students, were also present.

Other recent efforts to improve students’ experience include mandating more student-professor relationships by assigning mentors to students, and a year-by-year curriculum guide that specifies the ideal order to take required classes.

Mauck said that Metro is the largest producer of aerospace students nationwide and is thought of as the third-best aviation college in the country.

He said that thanks to this preparation, the aerospace students Metro produces have an advantage over others.

“Our students are more articulate, more comfortable,” he said, “and can handle their stress level better than other schools.”