(Article and Images by Ronny Joe Grooms first  appeared in The Oak Leaf Newspaper, Fall 2017)

A new course is in the works for Fall Semester at SRJC that will prepare students to become commercial drone operators.

The course's creation is the inspiration and effort of Donald Laird, the Chair of the Computer Studies Department, and an instructor.

Over the last several years he has specialized in teaching what he calls "the fun stuff" in Computer Studies, including things like Intro to 3D-Printing, Social Media, Photoshop, and soon to be Intro to Drones.

A class proposal has been submitted to the SRJC curriculum committee and is pending approval sometime mid-March, and he hopes to teach the first drone course Fall Semester, 2017.

When asked why drones were coming to campus he explained how it is in line with the department's duty and mission as an attempt to stay abreast with what he calls, "the latest and greatest" technology and to bring students together with that technology "as fast as the bureaucracy will allow it . . ." as to offer a cutting-edge curriculum.