Elizabeth pilots promising future in aviation-based focus program

February 17, 2026

North Star High School senior Elizabeth is navigating a promising future in the aviation industry by gaining hands-on experience with airplanes in Lincoln.
 
Elizabeth is flying into successful stratospheres through the Aviation and Technical Education Focus Program. The focus program, embedded in an airplane hangar on North Star’s campus, offers Lincoln Public Schools students an endless sky of opportunities. Elizabeth is currently taking part in an internship at Duncan Aviation, which is one of the leading airplane maintenance, repair and overhaul providers in the world.

“I’m very thankful for Duncan taking the time to sponsor a school and that all of the leaders here are very willing and encouraging,” Elizabeth said. “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t know what I would want to do for my future. I really feel confident in what I’m going to do and who I’m going to become. That’s because of the opportunities that they’ve given to me.”

North Star senior Elizabeth smiles in front of an airplane in a Duncan Aviation hangar. She is wearing safety goggles and a t-shirt that has the Duncan Aviation name and logo.

North Star senior Elizabeth uses a tool to insert a screw inside an airplane at Duncan Aviation. She is facing left to right and is using both hands to turn the tool.
 
Elizabeth said she has enjoyed spending time at the company’s main headquarters on the city's northwest side. The aviation internship is one of the options that seniors can choose as the capstone of their focus program experiences. She travels to one of Duncan Aviation’s eight hangars each school day to learn more about the business.

Amanda Woodward serves as the focus program’s administrator and teacher at North Star. She said the future is limitless for students like Elizabeth who are willing to dive into the focus program’s pool of resources.
 
“Without the partnership between Duncan Aviation and Lincoln Public Schools, Elizabeth may never have discovered aviation maintenance, and that would have been a loss for our industry,” Woodward said. “Once she was introduced to this pathway, she found something that finally matched her work ethic, her problem solving and her desire to do meaningful, skilled work.”
 
Elizabeth became interested in airplanes after watching them take flight from Lincoln Airport each day while growing up. She wanted to know more about their jet engines, fuselages and rudders, but she wasn’t sure how to go about learning that information. She then had a conversation with Woodward that changed the trajectory of her life.
 
“When Ms. Woodward told me about the program, I was like, ‘I want to give this a go,’ because it was something new,” Elizabeth said. “It was something that I didn’t know was an opportunity available to me.”

North Star senior Elizabeth smiles in front of the nose of an airplane in a Duncan Aviation hangar. She is wearing safety goggles and a t-shirt that has the Duncan Aviation name and logo.

North Star senior Elizabeth inspects the underbelly of an airplane in a Duncan Aviation hangar. She is using her right hand to prepare to attach a hose to a spot on the landing gear.
 
LPS began offering aviation classes for North Star students in grades 9-12 in the 2019-20 school year. The school district formed partnerships with Duncan Aviation and Boys and Girls Club of Lincoln/Lancaster County in May 2022 to meet the focus program’s growing enrollment. The three entities created a new home that features classrooms, flight simulators and space for community learning centers (CLC) programming.
 
Woodward said Elizabeth has been a joy to teach over the past three years. She has relished learning about power mechanics, discovering how to read technical drawings and figuring out how to work with arc welding tools.
 
“What stands out most about Elizabeth is not just her ability to learn content, but the way she approaches work,” Woodward said. “She asks thoughtful questions, she listens, she documents carefully, and she is willing to start over when something isn’t right. She is steady, reliable and respectful in the lab, exactly the kind of person you want working next to you when it matters.”

North Star senior Elizabeth works on the underbelly of an airplane at Duncan Aviation. She is holding a cylinder canister that has a hose on it. She is attaching the hose to a section of the landing gear.

North Star senior Elizabeth works on the underbelly of an airplane at Duncan Aviation. She is holding a cylinder canister that has a hose on it. She is attaching the hose to a pipe that is inside the airplane.
 
Those high-quality traits landed Elizabeth an internship opportunity during the second semester. She spent her first three weeks working in Duncan Aviation’s airframe department. Employees in other divisions, such as engine overhaul, painting and interior maintenance, have been passing along their knowledge to her during the late winter and early spring.
 
Elizabeth said being in the focus program has accelerated her career prospects. Not only has she gained firsthand knowledge of airplane parts, systems and procedures, but she has also been linking together a valuable network of industry connections.
 
“It’s been something as simple as the tail number on a plane,” Elizabeth said. “I wouldn’t have known that unless I went through this program. It’s learning about an engine and a piston and how they work. There’s definitely been a lot of growth. It’s been a good experience.”
 
The internship will help Elizabeth begin to achieve her short-term goal of earning her airframe and powerplant (A&P) license. The license, which is issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, allows technicians to maintain and repair aircraft. She will then be able to choose the specific type of work that she will pursue as a skilled tradesperson.
 
“She represents exactly what we hoped students would become when we built this program,” Woodward said. “I’m proud to be part of her journey and excited to see where she lands.”

North Star senior Elizabeth uses a tool to insert a screw inside an airplane. She is facing right to left and is holding the tool with both hands to twist it.
 
Elizabeth encouraged LPS students to enroll in the focus program as soon as possible. She said they could create the same types of promising futures that she is flying towards.
 
“The more interested you are, and the more our leaders see how interested you are, the more opportunities they will make available to you,” Elizabeth said. “They really do want us to get better. When they see students trying their best, they want them to get more opportunities. If there’s something there, go for it.”
 
LPS Focus Programs provide hundreds of LPS students with lifetime skills! Take your future to new heights and explore the Aviation and Technical Education Focus Program. 
 
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Published: February 17, 2026, Updated: February 27, 2026

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North Star senior Elizabeth works on the underbelly of an airplane at Duncan Aviation. She is piloting a promising future through the Aviation and Technical Education Focus Program. She is taking part in an internship at Duncan Aviation that will help her eventually earn her airframe and powerplant license.