LAUREL HILL — Paul Hsu, the entrepreneur, philanthropist and visionary behind multiple Okaloosa County military and technology firms, says STEM education will lead to more high-paying jobs.
"In 2020, in this great country of ours, we're generating somewhere around 3 to 4 million jobs," Hsu said Monday to a group of about 50 Laurel Hill School students, faculty and parents in the Hobo gymnasium. "Each and every job will relate to STEM: science, technology, engineering and mathematics,"
Such jobs could pay between $80,000 and $120,000 per year, he said. However, "If you have no idea about what STEM is all about, you're not gonna get this kind of pay."
Hsu; Brendan Kelly, the University of West Florida's vice president of university advancement; and Sean McSheehy, an Aviation, Engineering and Robotics teacher at Choctawhatchee High School, joined LHS administrators and faculty for an introduction to unmanned aircraft, or drones.
It's the logical next step in LHS's curriculum, science teacher Joan Mitchell said.
"Technology is the future," she said. "Billions of dollars are invested in drones and all the things that they can do."
NORTH COUNTY OPPORTUNITIES
LHS's middle and high school students build Lego robots, much like their counterparts at other North Okaloosa schools, but they don't participate in area competitions, according to Mitchell.
"The standard robot, they are programming it to, like, follow a black line or to take a note to the principal's office, or pick up a ball," Mitchell said.
In other words, those robots stay grounded.
Teaching LHS students about drones will keep them on par with their South Okaloosa County counterparts, Hsu said.
Hsu's three children graduated from Choctawhatchee, where there are high-tech education programs.
"The north county needs a little helping hand," he said.
Mitchell agreed.
"I love the opportunity for our children here at Laurel Hill and the north end," she said. "It's the best thing they could see, so that they know they have the same opportunities as all over the county."
'THEY'RE HUNGRY FOR IT'
LHS students are witnessing "a new revolution of flight," McSheehy said. "These little drones are going to change our world."
McSheehy leads a group of CHS students in unmanned aircraft education and competition under the U.S. Drone Team. The program, which offers certification and earned education credits for college, champions revolutionary efforts like Amazon Prime Air, an initiative to deliver packages within 30 minutes to customers living close to the online store's distribution centers.
Drones also are bringing a revolution in education, McSheehy said.
"When we're in calculus class, we learn about derivatives. And (students) are like, 'Well, how does that apply? When are we gonna use that?' And then, all day Saturday, we're programming, you know, what we call PI values — proportionate interval derivatives — into the drones … It helps it to fly, stop from wobbling, and it's awesome."
Suddenly, the teacher's job becomes easier, he said.
"They (students) start asking me questions instead of me trying to push it; they're hungry for it and they want to learn and they ask me (about) the principles of flight."
SCIENCE: 'REALLY FUN'
The technology revolution spans not just drones, but also improvements in 3D printing, Hsu said.
"3D printing is the capability to print anything you want," he said. "See, before, a country like China, like India, they have a lot of advantage for manufacturing. But once we have the 3D printing capability, all the manufacturing jobs, they will be gradually coming back to this great country of ours."
That puts the U.S. and its workers in control of all high technology innovations, Hsu said.
However, for now, in the classroom, the goal is simple: "We're just trying to have the opportunity to let the kids understand that technology — science — can be really fun, and it's all under your control, so that's really the future," Hsu said.
LHS students expressed enthusiasm during the drone demonstration and said they anticipate its possibilities.
Some students said they are cautiously optimistic about the technology.
"It can be used for very good or very bad — one of the two," LHS senior Wesley Rorech said. "It's all in the eye of the beholder, really."
"I think it's a very good advance in technology, if all else fails, you know," LHS senior Chris Saylor said.
"But it can be used by the government for very good — protecting the people, you know — or it could be bad, with the spying and all of that."
WATCH: 2 Laurel Hill students weigh in on drones>>
WATCH: Drones' "learning moments">>
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: NWF business, education leaders bring drones to Laurel Hill School (VIDEO)