Student drone operators provide eyes in the sky for Commencement

Liberty University’s 53rd Commencement would not have gone as smoothly this past weekend without a volunteer student force of Unmanned Aerial System operators deployed by the School of Aeronautics.

“Over the past several years, we have really started relying on drones to help us with surveillance at Commencement,” said Senior Associate Registrar Lori Boyce, program manager for Commencement. “They help monitor parking lots and traffic patterns and backups, and they help with other security-related issues. They are able to quickly react if we need a view of an area, and they stream it directly into our Emergency Operations Center that is being monitored by our emergency teams, LUPD, and the Virginia State Police.”

Liberty’s Commencement is the largest event in Central Virginia every year. An estimated 70,000 graduates and their loved ones were welcomed to campus over the three days of ceremonies.

About 45 students took turns operating five camera-equipped drones in the airspace over campus from 6 a.m. to midnight (20-25 students each day). They were organized by the School of Aeronautics UAS Operations Team staff with support from Emergency Management & Community Engagement staff working out of the EOC.

School of Aeronautics Director of Technology and Innovation Kevin Martin called the student volunteers “force multipliers.”

“It is a great opportunity for them to work as a volunteer force in a real-world environment serving multiple agencies — using technology from Liberty’s Information Services Department and aircraft and training from the School of Aeronautics to collaborate with the Virginia State Police, LUPD, and other members of Liberty’s Office of Security & Public Safety stationed in the EOC,” Martin said. “We are the only university that we know of that is doing this type of integration of aerial assets with their safety teams.”

Martin said the students are actively living out the School of Aeronautics’ motto: “to equip, mentor and send Champions for Christ into the UAS industry” as they gain practical, real-world opportunities through the school’s UAS Operational Experience.

The five sets of eyes in the sky flew a total of 100 hours with more than 50 battery swaps per day and hundreds of takeoffs and landings. By providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, the operation streamlined services such as locating missing children; responding to medical emergencies by directing ambulances and EMTs to the best routes to reach them; and recognizing parking and traffic flow issues, including those caused by automobile accidents and breakdowns.

“Our drone operators provide critical, time-sensitive aerial assets and visuals on the crowds to help real-time decision makers improve traffic flow and people flow and respond to all sorts of different needs,” said Martin, who rotated with LUSOA Associate Director of UAS Operations Brayden Johnson and UAS Instructor Michael Verbosky to operate the command and control of the airspace mission in the EOC. “We had great support from the (Federal Aviation Administration) and the Lynchburg Regional Airport tower. They were absolutely awesome in giving us the required airspace for the event. That was instrumental.”

The Virginia State Police also provided a drone airspace detection system on a trailer situated on campus that has also been used it at other large events such as inaugurations to detect and stop unauthorized incoming UAS devices.

Martin said the unofficial motto his staff live by is “Blessed are the flexible, because they will not break.”

“Our team members did an awesome job at being flexible and problem-solving to complete the mission,” he said. “It was a beautiful collaboration between all the different teams and a culmination of six months of mission planning from our UAS Operations Team led by (Coordinator) Gracie McCarty.”

Martin said Liberty’s drone team has revolutionized large event security on campus. Its synergistic operations with the EMCE team have garnered interest from the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, which invited representatives to speak at the AUVSI EPONENTIAL 2025 last May in Houston.

This year, the UAS Operations Team participated at the March 10-11 DroneResponders National Public Safety UAS Conference in Williamsburg, Va. In April, it assisted the U.S. Army in conducting an Operation Safer Skies exercise at Fort Pickett in Blackstone, Va., aimed at securing airspace and critical infrastructure from small-scale drone threats.

>> Liberty University’s School of Aeronautics offers both a B.S. in Unmanned Aircraft Operations, designed to help students become licensed to pilot drones for all purposes — from military services to corporate organizations — and a Medium Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Certificate that can be completed in one semester with hands-on experience using Textron Systems in FAA approved airspace and using virtual reality simulators.

>> Liberty’s UAS Operational Experience partners with a variety of agencies to provide critical aerial situational awareness for preplanned events and emergency situations. Student volunteers serve as Visual Safety Observers as well as UAS Operators and Remote Pilots in Command (with FAA Part 107 certification).