By: Layla Westbrook, EAST Student Contributor

EAST opens doors for its students by giving them access to technology they often would not get to work with anywhere else. In underserved communities, these opportunities are often eye-opening. 

Senior EAST student Keyshaun Burrell from Marvell-Elaine High School recently passed the Recreational UAS Safety Test to receive his TRUST certification for drone piloting. As a first-year EAST student, this new experience had profound impacts on him. 

Keyshaun was encouraged to work towards his certification by his facilitator, Jacqueline Johnson-Cox. 

“She told me, ‘I like how you struggle to find out how to work the drone, so you might as well take the test to get your certificate and learn more about the drone so you can be something and have more things to do in life,’” Keyshaun said. 

Keyshaun has big plans for his certification. It has opened up opportunities for new projects that could have huge impacts on his community.  

“I’m planning on asking a relative of mine to let me fly it over his farm. I want to see if I can fulfill this plan to record crops and stuff, and keep it up to date,” Keyshaun said. 

The certification has created new paths for Keyshaun to pursuable interests such as trucking, storm chasing, and engineering, all fields that utilize his new certification. The opportunities provided through EAST have given him ways to explore these opportunities and learn about them.

EAST is different from other classes. In EAST, students can take charge of their own learning and work with the technologies they want to work with. It is distinctly student-led, and this allows students to grow at their own pace. Keyshaun has experienced this distinctness firsthand. 

“EAST has been helpful a lot in life decisions. It’s very creative, and it allows me to build new skills and get used to them,” Keyshaun said. “I can see where I fit in at, and put my skills to the test.”