“My experience as a young model aircraft enthusiasts motivated me to get a PhD in aerospace engineering and pursue a job designing drones for the DoD, where I have been for the last 26 years. I routinely mentor young teams in STEM activities related to drones, and have had many high-school, undergrad and grad-school interns, and all were hired based on past experience with model aircraft. I consulted for an electric aviation startup in the SF bay area for a while, and every employee that had anything to do with aero design, flight controls and experimental testing started out with model aircraft at a young age. If we make it difficult/impossible for young people to obtain these life experiences at a young age, I do not know where companies or the DoD will find suitable employees in the future – overseas I imagine.”