Columbia High School introduces national defense themed magnet program

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Columbia High School held a recruitment event for it’s new “school-within-a-school” national defense themed magnet program.

Through its partnership with a nonprofit organization called the Celebrate Freedom Foundation, the school will provide students with four new academies including pre-engineering, biomedical, cybersecurity, and aerospace.

“We’re geared towards students who are interested in becoming an aerospace engineer, or anyone who’s interested in aviation in general. And that’s for our aerospace program. We also have a biomedical program for students who are interested in crime scene investigations or anything related to medical investigations. So we’re looking for kids who are interested in inquiry, kids who are just curious, and kids who want to have a very bright future,” says Dr. Teresa Turner, Project Director for Magnet Grants.

A future, Turner says,  that may include some students getting their pilot’s license.

“If they started in 9th grade, took all of the pre-req courses, took all of the hours with the Celebrate Freedom Foundation, and also did all of the course work, then they could qualify for theFAA exam,” says Turner.

According to Dr. Joy Obidike, the Aerospace and STEM Magnet Defense School Consultant, the sky really is the limit when it comes to career paths and lucrative job opportunities.

“Let’s just say air traffic controller, $160,000 a year. They can be pilots too as well. Commercial drone certifications — they can get those before they leave high school. Again, cultural relevance and understanding your markets. That’s what students are doing. So we’re not trying to bring them to us, we’re trying to come to them,” Obidike says.

Columbia High School students will also have the option of dual enrollment courses through Midlands Technical College and the University of South Carolina, as well as internship opportunities at places like Fort Jackson and the Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

Students at Watkins-Nance Elementary School and W.A. Perry Middle School will also be able to enroll in similar aerospace programs catered to their age groups.

“Success is not instant, so how can we get in front of that and how can we take what students are doing now and marry it. And that’s what this program does,” Obidike says.

Turner says she expects close to 500 Columbia High School students will be enrolled in the magnet program within five years.

School officials say funding for the magnet program came from a $14.9 million grant awarded to Richland School District One by the U.S. Department of Education in 2022.