WTA senior Jared Fournier is a member of the first-ever Aviation graduating class. (Photo submitted)
WESTFIELD – Jared Fournier, a senior in the first graduating class of the Aviation Maintenance Technology (AMT) program at Westfield Technical Academy has been named the WTA Vocational Technical Student of the Year, and was honored on April 11 at a banquet at Mechanics Hall in Worcester which celebrated all of the state’s award winners.
Peter Taloumis, Career Technical Education Director at WTA, said that the state awards banquet is for students who excelled in their academic and technical areas, and is sponsored every year by the Mass. Association of Vocational Administrators (MAVA) and the Mass. Vocational Assoc. (MVA). Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley was there to hand out the plaques, he said.
Taloumis said the qualifications for the honor at WTA include a GPA of 3.5 or higher, high competency skill set in their trade area, and attendance among other criteria. All the shops nominate a student, and the one with the highest rating in the school receives the honor.
Taloumis submitted the following description of Jared Fournier for the awards banquet:
Jared Fournier, son of Mark and Darci Fournier, resides in Westfield and is an exceptional student in the aviation technical program. His professionalism has been observed by many in the aviation industry and at Barnes Airport, as he pursues his Federal Aviation Administration Technician Certification, and a FAA Pilot’s License.
Jared is enrolled in a challenging course of study that has included honors, AP and dual enrollment courses at Westfield State University. He holds the highest grade point average in the aviation program and is ranked fourth in the Senior Class.
A member of the National Technical Honor Society, Jared is also student representative to the Westfield School Committee, where each month he reports to the committee on the status of the school.
Jared said he also competed in technical math as a member of SkillsUSA.
AMT department head Galen Wilson had this to say about his student:
“Jared’s commitment level has been above and beyond expectations while enrolled in our Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved, Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) 14 Part 147 Aviation course. Over the past 4 years, Jared has truly excelled; academically, and has maintained being in the top 5 percent of his class.
“Although he is aware of his academic excellence, he never boasts about his abilities’ instead, he is very eager to share them with others. Jared has a confident, yet modest character, which effectively helps him interact wonderfully with his fellow students. Jared is truly one of WTA’s shining stars,” Wilson said.
Jared Fournier displays his WTA Vocational Technical Student of the Year plaque at the school earlier this week. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Wilson’s characterization of Fournier rings true when speaking with him about the awards banquet. “We ate dinner, had the awards, and I got a plaque,” Jared said. He gets more animated when he talks about aeronautics and flying.
Jared is the first in his family to become interested in Aeronautics. His mother is a physical therapist, and his father, a market analyst. Jared’s sister Julia is a sophomore at WTA, studying graphic arts. He was introduced to aeronautics in the Wright Flight program in seventh and eighth grades, which was also the first time he was ever in an airplane. Jared said he hadn’t actually flown in a large aircraft until recently, when he went to visit Wichita State University in Kansas, where he will continue his education in the aviation field as an aeronautical engineering student. He said ultimately he is interested in designing aircraft.
In the AMT program, his course of study included communication and navigation, hydraulics, electrical and landing gear, which Jared said keeps them busy. “I think it’s great,” he said about the AMT program. “There’s always something interesting to learn. Aircraft flying is exciting. It’s a challenge, and I enjoy that,” he said.
This year, the AMT students were able to spend more time in Hangar 2 at Barnes Airport, which was rehabilitated last year for classroom space. “It’s so much nicer out there,” he said.
Jared is working outside of school on getting his Pilot’s license, and has 21 hours of flying out of a minimum of 40. He said he still has to do solo hours, cross country, a written test and pass a check ride.
He also participated in dual enrollment at Westfield State University, where he has taken classes in English 101, Ethnic Studies and Arc GIS, earning nine college credits. This semester he stopped to focus on finishing his program at WTA, where he will be a member of the first ever graduating class of the AMT program. Fittingly, graduation will be held on June 6 at Barnes Airport this year.
Taloumis said Jared excels in his work ethic, and his academic program “is something to talk about,” adding that his career aspirations are strong. Scholarships that Jared has received to date include $5,000 a year from Wichita State, along with local scholarships. Taloumis said Wichita has a good aerospace engineering program, in an area that boasts leaders in the aerospace industry including Textron, Airbus and Bombardier.
Jared is already sounding nostalgic when he speaks about Westfield Technical Academy. “It’s nice being in a really small school. I know everybody, and I know the teachers,” he said. While he is looking forward to going to the much larger NCAA Division I Wichita State, Jared admits that it will be “far away from home.”
