In The News

Originally Published in The Augusta Chronicle.

Rep. Rick Allen has visited many schools throughout his career, but it's not every day a visit involves rockets and medical care.

The congressman for Georgia's 12th District was given an exciting visit to A.R. Johnson Magnet School on Tuesday. The morning kicked off with a presentation by one of the engineering classes who explained the steps and processes they've gone through in making their own rockets.

Students were able to show off their successes by going outside to the football stadium where the rockets were launched incredibly high into the sky. Once at the peak, they released parachutes that brought them gently down to the ground.

Not every launch was a success, but that gave the class a chance to demonstrate and explain their problem-solving skills.

Allen also visited one of the healthcare science classes, whose students demonstrated their ability to take someone's blood pressure with a cuff. Eighth-grader Gaige Harris spoke to Allen about how this area inspires him.

"I wanted to do biomedical because I have ideas for advancements," Harris said. "What if we perfected the gene that kills cancer?"

Allen reflected on his own past and what these kinds of classes mean for Georgia's future.

"We didn't do that back when I was in high school," he said with a laugh. "What we have available in education today; the sky's the limit. Technology, A.I., is going to take it to another level.

"We've got the Cyber Center of Excellence right here. We've got students at Richmond County schools who will graduate and go directly to work in cyber making serious dollars. And then if they want to get a college degree, they will send them to college ... there's so many opportunities out there."