Navid Azodi, a junior at Kentwood High School is an avid collector of Boeing airplane models and dreams of being a pilot. This week he is one step closer to that dream by attending the World Aviation Training Symposium in Orlando, Fla.

“I know airplanes will be a large part of my future,” Azodi said. “From pretending to fly miniature 747 airplane models in my bedroom when I was eight years old, opportunities such as this will allow me to one day be a pilot and fly a real 747 in the skies.”

Azodi was one of two Washington state students invited to the event. Both Azodi and the other student, Kim Ragel of Bellingham High School, were selected based on essays they submitted as part of a program sponsored by Boeing and the Washington Aerospace Scholars.

“We have an obligation to attract and excite new generations of young people about working in our industry,” said Sherry Carbary, vice president of Boeing Flight Services. “We know there is going to be an exponential demand for aviation professionals over the next 20 years. Showcasing our industry to some of our most promising students can only reinforce their drive and enthusiasm, and send them back to their communities and classrooms as energized ambassadors for careers in aviation. We need that edge if our industry is to thrive in the future.”

Washington Aerospace Scholars is an educational program for high school juniors from across the state of Washington, emphasizing science, technology, engineering and math. Students must have a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale to apply and participate in a NASA-designed curriculum and a summer program at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.