When sophomore Kalen Kelly first learned about Wilmington College’s hallmark for hands-on learning, he had no idea that would put him at the controls of a drone.

A resident of Wilmington majoring in agriculture at WC, Kelly is engaged in a summer internship with Beck’s Hybrids at which one of his tasks involves finding practical uses for drones in potentially serving the Atlanta, Indiana-based seed company’s customers.

Kelly has taken a camera-equipped drone to agricultural fields, where photographs, shot from several hundred feet above the ground, can not only reveal a bird’s eye view of the landscape, but can assist in scouting fields and spotting diseases, drainage problems and equipment errors.

Assisted by Kelly’s practical research, Beck’s is considering the feasibility of offering drone photography as a complementary service. For Kelly, he found out that hands-on learning can be, not only academically beneficial in career preparation, but just plain fun.