Chopper pilots tell Richfield students: Aim high

Richard Sennott, Star Tribune

Students crowded the helicopter after it landed on the football field. This was one day that “I was happy to go to school,” said eighth-grader Vashti Mohabir.

A Blackhawk helicopter crew landed at Richfield Middle School in a motivational event for students.

By JOY PETERSENSpecial to the Star Tribune

Last update: November 3, 2009 - 4:58 PM

In bleachers usually set out for football games, nearly 50 Richfield Middle School students waited, more excited than usual about a school program.

For the first time, the field was about to become a landing pad for a Blackhawk helicopter.

As part of a Minnesota National Guard Counterdrug Program and the Guard's Drug Demand Reduction Programs, middle-schoolers in Minnesota can get a chance to see a working military helicopter up close as they hear a presentation about making good decisions in life. And last week, a Blackhawk came to Richfield.

As eighth-grade friends Vashti Mohabir and Guadalupe Estrada watched the helicopter land, they were eager for what was to come.

"I was happy to go to school," Mohabir said. Added Estrada: "For the first time."

Following the landing, the students gathered to hear a talk by the pilot, Richfield native Ryan Roberts. Co-pilot Andrew Ueland helped field questions from the students while providing a familiar face: he's the school's police liaison officer.

Roberts gave examples of the jobs a helicopter can do, and stressed the importance of doing one's best in any endeavor. He told the students to stay in school, avoid drug use and maintain a positive position in their communities.

After answering a question correctly, eighth-grader Taylor Johnson was able to sit in the pilot's seat while other students looked through the back of the chopper. Though he said he doesn't want to be a pilot, Johnson was excited to spend some time in the cockpit. "It was cool -- a little complex though," he said.

The students who heard the presentation were seventh- and eighth-graders enrolled in a program called Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). The program is designed to ensure that all students -- and specifically those in the academic middle -- will succeed in school curriculum on a college preparatory track.

Using classes that teach time management, organization, note-taking, effective textbook reading and test-taking skills, among others, the program aims to prepare students for success in their communities and careers.

Students at Richfield who would like to be a part of the program are required to complete a student application, parent questionnaire, teacher recommendation and one-on-one interview. There are only 50 spots available in the program per class for seventh- and eighth-graders at the middle school.

Stephen West, the principal at Richfield, said the fly-in is designed to motivate the students.

Typically, students at the top and bottom of a class receive the most attention, he said. Through the AVID program, now in its third year at Richfield Middle School, West said the school is "doing something to promote these kids" so they can better serve the community someday.

Last year, the school hosted Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings.

Joy Petersen is a Minneapolis freelance writer.

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