By Maria Guerrero

NBCDFW

Image of Steffanie Rivers , founder and CEO of TCB Drones, on stage as she speaks to students.

An annual field trip to Dallas Love Field provided area students a glimpse at careers in one of today’s most profitable industries.

Scholars from the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy filed into Love Field’s Frontiers of Flight Museum on Thursday morning to hear from an entrepreneur who has made a name for herself in the drone industry.

Steffanie Rivers is the founder and CEO of TCB Drones, based in Dallas.

Her company took off during the pandemic and has since secured contracts with insurance and inspection companies, as well as search and rescue efforts.

TCB also trains drone pilots and prepares them for their FAA exam.

“I always like to do the comparison people into video games, they don’t realize the transference of skills to be a drone pilot it’s the same working a video controller, so just thinking beyond what you see into what the possibility,” said Rivers.

The third annual "Leaps & Bounds" hands-on experience featuring a “crash course" in drone operations and a flight demonstration is possible because of a collaboration with DISD, and signals Love Field's efforts to expose youths to the aviation industry and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

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According to a press release from Love Field, "the drone market is projected to reach a staggering $100 billion by 2030, reflecting its growing commercial demand and increasing investments."

Rivers is also credited with breaking barriers in the state.

She is the first Black woman to register a drone technology company in Texas.

“I just want to be an inspiration to others, she said. “I want to be known for opening the door for other people who might not have looked at themselves as being tech savvy enough to be a drone pilot.”