During the first week of the April holidays I had the opportunity to attend the School to Skies programme at the Royal NZ Air Force. This programme was focused on STEM careers, specially within the Air Force. During these eight days, we got to explore what life is like in the Air Force as well as experience different roles. Some roles include: aircraft technician, pilot, avionics, engineering and many more. Some of the cool experiences during the programme were flying a helicopter simulation, rebuilding parts of a plane, and the most memorable was actually flying in a NH90 helicopter on a search and rescue mission. Also throughout the week we heard from sponsors within and outside of the Airforce to share their experiences within their field and how they got where they are. One of the most inspiring was Dr Michelle Dickinson, also known as Nanogirl, who inspired us to think what we could do to promote STEM subjects to younger children. Overall it was the most amazing experience I have ever had and couldn’t recommend it enough to Year 13s next year.

Megan Erasmus, Year 13