AAR celebrates high school internship graduation at Oklahoma City facility

High school students and supporters commemorate a successful AAR internship experience.

Wood Dale, Illinois — AAR CORP., a leading provider of aviation services to commercial and government operators, MROs, and OEMs, hosted an internship graduation ceremony on August 8, 2024, for the 10 high school students who spent their summer learning about aviation and career opportunities at the Company’s Oklahoma City location. 

During the 10-week internship program, students participated in on-the-job training and benefited from mentorship from AAR’s experienced team leaders. AAR and Choose Aerospace developed this high school internship program to foster interest in careers in the industry.

Levi Lentz, General Manager of AAR’s airframe MRO facility in Oklahoma City, welcomed students and parents, thanked the many partners who contributed to the program’s success, and highlighted the growth of aviation in Oklahoma.  

“Congratulations to our latest high school intern graduates! They worked hard this summer and gained valuable knowledge in aviation maintenance. This internship’s success is truly a collaborative effort,” said Lentz.

Oklahoma Representative Stephanie Bice; Grayson Ardies, State Director of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission; Brett Haken, State Director of Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education; and Denise Hensley, Career & Technology Coordinator for Putnam City Schools also shared encouraging remarks. Each played a vital role in shaping future opportunities available to the students.

Ardies explained, “Our aerospace education initiatives are essential in addressing workforce challenges and ensuring that Oklahoma remains a leader in the aerospace industry. The dedication of our educators and the enthusiasm of students is the key to our success.” Ardies continued, “Oklahoma is offering students an introductory look to the industry and prepares them with STEM concepts that are fundamental to their future careers. We are seeing students who have an interest in aerodynamics, now choosing aerospace engineering when they go off to college. We have students who are mechanically inclined now pursuing their aircraft technician certifications, and students who were not seeking private pilot certifications are now exploring support roles in the industry. We are learning from our teachers and students that Aerospace is open for everyone.”

"We are so thankful for our partnership with AAR. It is changing the lives of our students in a very positive way,” added Hensley.

“Inspiring high school students to pursue a career in the aviation industry is critical to meeting the workforce challenges that exist today,” shared Ryan Goertzen, AAR’s Vice President of Workforce Development. “Internship programs like ours create the needed pipelines to meet current and future demand for aviation maintenance technicians.” 

About AAR
AAR is a global aerospace and defense aftermarket solutions company with operations in over 20 countries. Headquartered in the Chicago area, AAR supports commercial and government customers through four operating segments: Parts Supply, Repair & Engineering, Integrated Solutions, and Expeditionary Services. Additional information can be found at aarcorp.com.

This press release contains certain statements relating to future results, which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, reflecting management’s expectations about future conditions, including meeting workforce challenges and creating pipelines to meet current and future demand for aviation maintenance technicians. Forward-looking statements may also be identified because they contain words such as ‘‘anticipate,’’ ‘‘believe,’’ ‘‘continue,’’ ‘‘could,’’ ‘‘estimate,’’ ‘‘expect,’’ ‘‘intend,’’ ‘‘likely,’’ ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘might,’’ ‘‘plan,’’ ‘‘potential,’’ ‘‘predict,’’ ‘‘project,’’ ‘‘seek,’’ ‘‘should,’’ ‘‘target,’’ ‘‘will,’’ ‘‘would,’’ or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. These forward-looking statements are based on beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions and estimates based on information currently available to the Company and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, refer to “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize adversely, or should underlying assumptions or estimates prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described. These events and uncertainties are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many are beyond the Company’s control. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

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