During the week of June 18-21, Big Bend Technical College became home away from home to faculty from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Tallahassee Community College, Gulf Coast State College and PAEC personnel, who provided a series of Unmanned Systems STEM Summer Challenges to a group of middle and high school students from Taylor and Jefferson Counties. The event was provided at no cost to participating students through an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University partnership with the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium. PAEC coordinated all aspects of project activities. Taylor District Schools, another project partner, provided space and technical support at Big Bend Technical College for the challenge activities.
The three-day STEM Challenge began with students being divided into flight squadrons, which were led by STEM teachers from the participating districts and then, into flight crews of three. Mrs. Jesika Curry from Taylor County High School and Jefferson Somerset teachers Brittany Arrington and Bobby Angry worked alongside Embry-Riddle faculty as flight commanders for the challenge. Over the course of the three days, crews took part in a series of academically challenging and fast-paced rotations where they were required to fly mini-drones live using sky controllers and learn 
and apply computer coding skills to navigate aerial and terrestrial drones. Each day, the skill-demand of the activities increased and on day three crews used first person view headsets to fly live through an obstacle course and coded aerial and terrestrial devices to autonomously navigate a variety of routes and obstacle courses and carry out simulated tasks paralleling real-world uses of autonomous aerial systems. Crews also designed, constructed, and raced a hovercraft and like NASA flight crews, each designed their own unique, symbolic three-dimensional crew patch. Students also had the opportunity to engage with Sam Harris, Assistant Professor and Regional Manager, Gaetz Aerospace Institute at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Additionally, a presentation done at an earlier challenge, by Lieutenant Colonel, 461 FLTS Commander & F-35 ITF Director at Edwards Air Force Base was shared with the students.
The purpose of the Challenge events is to engage area students in STEM education and inform them of career opportunities, primarily in the areas of aerospace and engineering. Opportunities for high-wage employment in these career areas continues to grow as unmanned or autonomous systems gain in sophistication, applications expand and the demand for new systems and operators grows. Financial impact totals in the billions of dollars across military, commercial, personal, and technology sectors.
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