LAWTON – With the help of companies Aeon Industrial and Firehawk Aerospace, the FISTA Foundation will launch a fund to help students interested in learning more about careers involving science, technology, engineering and math.
Aeon and Firehawk recently donated $25,000 apiece to the foundation, a FISTA Innovation Park-related organization dedicated to promoting STEM education. FISTA officials celebrated the grants with a Jan. 31 ceremony at the Innovation Park, located in Central Plaza.
“Your commitment to supporting STEM education is not only inspiring but amazing,” said Dr. Krista Ratliff, president and CEO of FISTA. “Your generosity will leave a lasting impact on our students, our community and our shared future together.”
The grants will help the foundation establish an endowment fund, which will generate income to provide scholarships for students who are pursuing STEM-related education.
Aeon founder and CEO Naweed Tahmas’ first exposure to STEM education was at the Boys and Girls Club in his California hometown, Tahmas said. He said those programs were funded primarily by local companies.
“So when I learned about the FISTA Foundation, I thought, ‘This is the perfect opportunity for us to get involved and to pass forward the same opportunities that I had,’” Tahmas said.
Firehawk cofounder and CEO Will Edwards, whose company started in Oklahoma, said supporting FISTA was a way for him to support his home state.
“I want to give back to Oklahoma,” he said. “I want to create jobs here. I want to work with the students here.” Promoting STEM FISTA is currently building a STEM lab, incubator and manufacturing space in the former Old Navy and UPS stores in Central Plaza. Funding for that project came out of FISTA’s $20 million grant from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology.