The new drone training curriculum within the engineering program at Warren County Technical School (WCTS) has made major advances, gaining top-place finishes in a leading student drone flight competition and a new key certification for its program and students.

The program has also continued to build its close connection to the Warren County Community College drone training program, WarrenUAS, which is gaining a reputation as one of the best courses of study for unmanned vehicles in the country and has helped develop the two-year-old WCTS department.

“These were very important steps for our students and this program,” said Sean McGeough, who heads the WCTS drone training department, which enrolls 21 students. “We’re clearly making strides when we see our students compete so well in an important competition while having access to this sort of training. Drones are going to be used in nearly every field, and these students are learning valuable skills that give them the foundations to step into these positions.”

In March, two senior engineering students at WCTS, Grace Seijas and Elijah Lindner, were awarded a gold medal and two junior engineering students at WCTS, Dylan Schulze and Adrian Chan, were awarded a bronze medal in the statewide SkillsUSA Commercial sUAS (Drone) competition held at Gloucester County Institute of Technology in Sewell, NJ.

“We spent a huge amount of time flying drones on a course made specifically to train us for the competition,” Seijas said. “The classes in the engineering shop with Mr. McGeough were very informative. I could not have hoped for a teacher and program more involved in our success.” 

The competition featured a real-time flight assessment on a course with various obstacles and required precise communications between the pair. The two seniors got the best scores on a written exam about drone flight, maintenance and safety. They went on to a national competition in Atlanta.

The WCTS program got off the ground and grew in part thanks to the support from WarrenUAS, which among other things provided $10,000 worth of equipment for the drone program and other STEM fields. Experts at WarrenUAS have also consulted with McGeough about establishing and building the program.

“It is so great to see students are Warren County Technical School become so accomplished so quickly,” said Warren County Community College President Will Austin, who has been a champion for drone training through WarrenUAS and for support of drone training at WCTS. “The program is providing students with an education which can lead them directly to jobs working with drones or to our program for certificates or a two-year degree or other higher education opportunities.”

McGeough teaches a four-year engineering course. In the freshmen year they are introduced to the Recreational UAS Unmanned Aircraft Systems Safety Test (TRUST), which provides education and testing on important safety and regulatory information.

The sophomore year he introduces students to fundamental programming concepts and autonomous flight with drones. The junior and senior classes are combined and involve preparation for the Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.

McGeough completed the Part 107 training recently so that he could add that certification to the mix of material the students are exposed to in the WCTS program, which is part of the school’s engineering department.  

“The avenues for use of drones are growing all the time,” he said. “We are seeing their use repeatedly in the military in Ukraine, but they are also steadily more often used in agriculture, real estate and land use, law enforcement, entertainment, environmental studies and utility maintenance,” he said. “With this course work students are able to get entry-level positions and grow with this new industry.”

He noted that the SkillsUSA gold medal award winner Grace Seijas earned her Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate so she can earn money flying drones for a real estate firm.

“In addition, many of the students in our program will go on to WarrenUAS to get one of the certifications they offer or a full two-year associate’s degree,” he noted.

Students in the at WCTS are enthusiastic about the program.

Seijas says she hopes to find work in the real estate or construction industry, or “any other business interested in pictures taken from previously unreachable angles”.

            “I’m interested in drones because of the opportunities that they present for new operators and drone technicians,” she said. “The drone industry is growing and many businesses have begun to take a new interest in the benefits that drones can provide.” 

“The fact that we now have the technology to fly in the air with just a little piece of metal and plastic is just amazing to me,” said Adrian Chan. “I would like to turn it into a side career and eventually maybe develop my own company.”

His partner in the competition, Dylan Schulze, said the the first time he flew one of the WCTS drones was memorable.

“It was an amazing experience being able to see the world from 100-plus feet in the air with a high-quality camera. The effort which Adrian and I put into Skills USA also has stuck with me a lot. I recognized the importance and value in working as a team.”

            He says the broad application of the technology interests him most, and he hopes to work with drones as an extra way to support himself or as a primary career.

Junior Richard Hoyd has plans to attend WarrenUAS and make a career in the drone industry.

“The career path and its choices give me chances I only could dream about,” he said.

McGeough said that he wants to continue to build the program with more advanced technology and a broader array of projects, including practice working with local farmers or working on projects related to inspection of the school’s large solar array. He also believes design and maintenance of drones is a field where many more technicians are needed – and wants to provide students with a broader understanding of the mechanics of the equipment and applicable software.

The Engineering Advisory Board at WCTS includes Austin and Joseph Tinervia, a recent WarrenUAS graduate, whose drone service company, Joe Drones On, offers an array of services. Board members are providing assistance in developing and promoting the program, he noted, and assisting in special training for students.

“In two years, this program has really taken shape,” Austin said. “We have learned at WCTS and WarrenUAS how much this technology really engages students and leads them into good-paying careers. The opportunities are growing every day.”

WarrenUAS itself has grown rapidly in the seven years since its birth, next fall enrolling 80-100 students who will have an opportunity to work with its $5-million worth of drone and robotic equipment, including the latest technology such as advanced multispectral sensing, aerial robotic spraying and treatment, and data processing through artificial intelligence.

Additional advancements in research capacity, equipment, and the ability to design, fabricate, and program unique one-of-a-kind robotic drones are expected this year thanks to Congressional Appropriation from New Jersey’s U.S Senators, Austin noted. It has been the recipient of a significant amount of state and federal funding – and support from local juridictions.

Austin points out that two of Warren’s 2024 graduates are already working prior to graduation at starting compensation of $110,000 using what they learned at WarrenUAS.

It’s also collaborating with other colleges, along with building connections to a variety of other organizations in the field and in the community. Students and faculty are working in a number of ways with the leading aeronautical university in the country, Embry-Riddle, based in Daytona Beach, FL. The schools are working together on projects ranging from law enforcement training to spotting the some 300,000 pythons living in the Everglades.