Building Dreams in Aviation

Written By Beth White

Ensuring a Strong Aviation Industry Workforce, One Youth & Adult Mentor at a Time

Mentor A&P Jane Thomson helps mechanic-in-training Abby Demar with match-drilling on our Rans S-21 horizontal stabilizer frame.

Just a year ago, in the midst of recovering from my last surgery culminating my 10 month battle with breast cancer, I could not have foreseen the incredible journey and strides Habitat for Aviation would make since forming our non-profit. Our progress is a testament to the unwavering support and dedication of our aviation family, our incredible partnerships with Big Picture Learning and BETA Technologies, and the many individuals and organizations that sponsor our work.

Relationships, Relevance, & Practice

At the heart of our mission is the cultivation of meaningful relationships between youth and adults, united by their shared passion for aviation. We've witnessed beautiful connections form when we work together to FLY, BUILD, and FIX airplanes.

Our approach, modeled by our friends at Big Picture Learning, is centered in relevance and practice through real work being done alongside mentors who are experts in the field, is the secret to our early success. 

We are incredibly grateful for George Coy, a fantastic mentor who has opened his hangar to guide Habitat for Aviation youth completing their Harbor Freight Fellowships working on his fleet of aircraft learning from his four decade career in aviation and logging hours towards their FAA mechanics licenses.  

Mentor George Coy working in his Cherokee 140

Beth White

The great John Dewey believed that we “learn best what we live,”—that individualized, first-hand experiences offer opportunity for individuals to develop deep understandings and interests. For me, an ideal learning environment is where transdisciplinary partnerships support personalized learning. These are places that offer experiences, events, and situations that inform, encourage, and reinforce learners’ self-conceptualizations of future possibilities.

Prior to starting Habitat for Aviation, I worked in a variety of New England schools, including The Met High School in Providence, RI (the “mothership” of the Big Picture Learning Network). After 10 years as a high school teacher, I returned to the classroom and earned a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Vermont.

My first-hand experiences include designing and running advisory programs, supporting democratically-oriented schooling, building service-learning and internship programs, teaching teachers and pre-service educators, and designing and implementing alternative forms of assessment. I love working for Big Picture Learning where I am heavily involved with the Harbor Freight Fellowship Initiative to get youth into the skilled trades and B-Unbound, which connects youth to supportive adults who share their interests.

In the earliest days of my career, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic and a Master of Science in Environmental Studies with New Hampshire teaching certificates in biology and earth and space sciences from Antioch New England University.

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