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Flagstaff High School Native American Club Visits Honeywell Aerospace
Flagstaff High School Native American Club Visits Honeywell Aerospace
Ciera Tsosie
On Thursday 11/13, members of the Flagstaff American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) went on a tour with the staff at Honeywell Aerospace in Phoenix, Arizona to begin a conversation on how we can improve diversity in the workplace and advancement of Indigenous youth into STEM-related career paths.
We were welcomed by Honeywell engineers who shared an overview of aerospace technology, their design process as well as providing demonstrations of modern manufacturing and testing labs they utilized. We were also informed of career pathways for stem-driven students interested in engineering, software development, robotics or aviation with the opportunity to engage in internships available to high school and college-aged students. This allowed our group to ask questions, explore technical fields, and learn directly from professionals.
One of the most meaningful outcomes of the visit was our students' attempt to create a pathway between tribal nations, stem careers and corporate diversity as we participated in drafting a proposal aimed at improving tribal-corporate relations with companies like Honeywell. In this proposal we outlined our solutions to increasing Indigenous youth representation in STEM fields through creating internship pipelines for Native students in tribal schools, offering mentorship programs with Indigenous engineers and collaboration with AISES nationwide. Through industry partnerships promoting collaboration with tribal education departments, or supporting scholarships we can see a return on both ends working to strengthen workplace diversity for Honeywell and education for tribes.
For many of the students in attendance, this visit was their first opportunity to step into a major corporate environment, allowing them to gauge their interest in fields pertaining to aerospace and highlighted the importance of corporations forming relationships with tribal communities based on trust to encourage an environment that listens to the generation that will shape its future.