{"id":12601,"date":"2024-09-26T10:32:26","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T14:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=12601"},"modified":"2024-09-26T10:45:45","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T14:45:45","slug":"blue-angel-pilot-inspires-students-to-pursue-their-passions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/blue-angel-pilot-inspires-students-to-pursue-their-passions\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Angel pilot inspires students to pursue their passions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Blue Angel Lt. Cmdr. Amanda Lee chatted with Shelton Park Elementary fourth and fifth graders after speaking to the group.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Fifth grader Kaitlyn Kurrle introduced Blue Angel Lt. Cmdr. Amanda Lee to fourth and fifth graders during an assembly at Shelton Park Elementary.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Blue Angel Lt. Cmdr. Amanda Lee visited with Shelton Park Elementary School fourth and fifth graders hours before she took to the skies Sept. 20 during the Naval Air Station Oceana Air Show.<\/p>\n

Fifth grader Kaitlyn Kurrle introduced the school\u2019s special guest during an assembly: \u201cIn case you didn\u2019t know, Lt. Cmdr. Amanda Lee is the Taylor Swift of aviation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaitlyn\u2019s father, Robert Kurrle, served as a Blue Angel 2010-11 and connected principal Tara Brewer with Lee.<\/p>\n

\u201cLt. Cmdr. Lee is the first woman selected to be a demonstration pilot for the Blue Angels,\u201d Brewer told the students.<\/p>\n

Lee thanked them for the warm welcome and asked, \u201cHow many of you are part of a military family?\u201d Lots of hands went up.<\/p>\n

They watched a video about the Blue Angels, a team of active duty sailors and marines who perform aerobatics with F\/A-18 Super Hornet and C-130J Super Hercules aircraft.<\/p>\n

Formed in 1946, the Blue Angels \u201cinspires a culture of excellence and service to country,\u201d the video explained. A Blue Angels performance was compared to \u201ca carefully practiced ballet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Former Blue Angel Robert Kurrle, whose daughter Kaitlyn attends Shelton Park Elementary School, connected the school with Lt. Cmdr. Amanda Lee. She spoke at the school and hours later performed with the Blue Angels at the Naval Air Station Oceana Air Show. From left, Kurrle, assistant principal Mischelle Keller, Lee and principal Tara Brewer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lee said she\u2019s honored to be part of the team. Teamwork is very important, she said. She credited the many behind-the-scenes people, including those in medical, public affairs and maintenance, who work together to safely perform 32 times per year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could not do this show without our Blue Angels family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The job entails having a positive attitude and a willingness to learn. The philosophy is to always \u201cgive it your best effort,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cWe try to be better every single day, every single flight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The students asked lots of questions, including \u201cWhat is the most difficult trick to execute during a Blue Angels performance?\u201d Her answer:\u00a0 the \u201cdouble farvel.\u201d That\u2019s when the plane rolls upside down and flies inverted. \u201cIt\u2019s challenging and rewarding,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Students also wanted to know what it\u2019s like to be a Blue Angel. \u201cYou need mental focus to fly and it takes a lot of energy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s your favorite part about being a Blue Angel?\u201d a student asked. \u201cThe people!\u201d Lee answered.<\/p>\n

They were also curious about how Lee knew she wanted to be a pilot.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Fourth and fifth graders had lots of questions for Blue Angel Lt. Cmdr. Amanda Lee when she visited the school Sept. 20.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lee said it\u2019s OK to not know. At first, she thought about becoming an orthodontist, then a doctor. She joined the Navy in 2007 and worked in maintenance before becoming a pilot. \u201cJust give 110% no matter what you are doing,\u201d she said<\/p>\n

About 75% of Shelton Park\u2019s students are military-connected.<\/p>\n

Kaitlyn said her dad learned a lot from being a Blue Angel. \u201cHe always told me to be kind and always believed in me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Both Alana Williams and Davion Thomas\u2019 fathers are in the Navy. The fifth graders thought it was cool Kaitlyn\u2019s father was part of the famous aviation team.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a Blue Angel is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,\u201d Alana said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was cool to hear about all the different ways to fly a jet,\u201d Davion said.<\/p>\n

Later in the day, Shelton Park fifth graders joined other VBCPS fifth graders at the Air Show.<\/p>\n

The students cheered as they witnessed the impressive aircraft in action, their principal said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving the opportunity to connect with Lt. Cmdr. Lee, who plays a pivotal role in the Navy, made the air show even more special for them,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a memory they will have for a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Blue Angel Lt. Cmdr. Amanda Lee spoke to Shelton Park Elementary fourth and fifth graders Sept. 20 and answered lots of questions about her job in the Navy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blue Angel Lt. Cmdr. Amanda Lee visited with Shelton Park Elementary School fourth and fifth graders hours before she took to the skies Sept. 20 during the Naval Air Station […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":12605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12601"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12614,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12601\/revisions\/12614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}