ST. PHILIP’S COLLEGE GRADUATES FIRST FEMALE AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS FROM ALAMO AEROSPACE ACADEMY

Each earned high school diplomas, college certificates, two degrees and employment in aerospace

SAN ANTONIO (May 18, 2009) --- Two people have proven that students can still accomplish academic firsts at a college that is 111-years-old.

The two students are Nicole Antoinette Maldonado and Willie Rogers. Maldonado is the first female graduate of the Dual Credit Alamo Area Aerospace Academy Turbine Engines certificate program and classmate Rogers is the first African-American graduate of the same program. Both Maldonado and Rogers are now Lockheed Martin Kelly Aviation Center aircraft mechanics with full benefits.

The St. Philip’s College Aircraft Technology Program is the primary aerospace training resource in South Texas. The college created the Dual Credit Alamo Area Aerospace Academy as a feeder program for the local aerospace industry by providing local people with an opportunity to earn a diploma, a college certificate in aerospace and a job in a stable career field that pays well above the prevailing wage in the San Antonio area.

Rogers and Maldonado took their academy education two steps further by obtaining two associates degrees each from St. Philip’s College. They earned their associate degrees in Airframe and their associate degrees in Power Plant.

Both Rogers and Maldonado promote the college and the 18-month certificate program with potential students who watch the Floresville Independent School District’s online video What is the Aerospace Academy? featuring testimonials from Maldonado and Rogers.

“These days an associate degree is like a high school diploma,” said Maldonado. “I did the video when I was a student, to encourage people to keep going with their education by starting on their college certificates and college degrees early in life,” Maldonado said.

“When I did that video I was actually taking my last classes for my associate degree and I was doing a split shift at work (Lockheed Martin) at the same time,” said Maldonado. “I’ve graduated, I’m working doing something I love to do, and my parents think it’s awesome,” Maldonado said. “I’m actually a role model to women, and I take that seriously,” said Maldonado.

“I think St. Philip’s College has good programs, and speaking about my academy experience is my way of supporting education and the company I work for,” said Rogers.

Roughly 94-percent of the college’s aerospace academy students take jobs in the aviation industry after graduation. St. Philip’s is the lead education agency for the Kelly Aviation Center’s TF-39 engine mechanic apprenticeship program. That program has a reputation for graduating alumni with strong work ethics and interests in career progression. For enrollment information contact Rafael Brisita at (210) 486-7035 or Marivel Nanez at (210) 486-7158.

CAPTION: The St. Philip’s College Aerospace Academy Dual Credit program that provides a college certificate, a high school diploma and employment in the aerospace industry took big steps toward diversity in the scientific field of aerospace where minorities and women are underrepresented when it graduated both its first female student and first African-American student. The graduates are Nicole Antoinette Maldonado and Willie Rogers. Maldonado and Rogers are employees of Lockheed Martin Kelly Aviation Center. Maldonado | Rodgers (SPC images by Dianne Moffett)

Websites/Resources related to this story include:

1)Alamo Colleges-St. Philip’s College; 2) Alamo Area Aerospace Academy ; and 3) Floresville Independent School District’s online video What is the Aerospace Academy?

About St. Philip’s: Bishop James Steptoe Johnston of the St. Philip’s Episcopal Church of the West Texas Diocese founded Alamo Colleges—St. Philip’s College in 1898. Today, Alamo Colleges—St. Philip’s College is a multi-campus institution of the Alamo Colleges and serves a semester enrollment of nearly 10,000 credit and more than 6,000 continuing education students. Alamo Colleges—St. Philip’s is a Historically Black College and Hispanic Serving Institution and is the only college in the nation that carries this dual designation. As “A Point of Pride in the Community,” Alamo Colleges—St. Philip’s College is among the oldest and most diverse community colleges in the United States.