EMU, my career, and what to be when
I grow up
Shonk, Joseph
Becoming a pilot became a goal of mine
somewhere in the mid 1990’s, and remained as my intended achievement unerringly
ever since. It was not until 2008 that I
realized that the military was the more specific route I wanted to travel. Eastern Michigan University (EMU) has not
changed my career goals, but rather facilitated them. There are some amazing people in the program,
and I sincerely hope they have been affected as positively by my attendance as
I have by theirs. The best advantage has
been the people I have made contacts who have broadened my perspective of the
industry. My enrollment at EMU occurred
after completing all general education requirements at various community colleges,
and so my experience with the college is limited to the Aviation Flight
Technology program only.
These blog posts have heightened my
awareness of current events within the industry developed a perspective of
dynamic nature of aviation. The merger
of American Airlines and Boeing vs. Airbus were the two most interesting to
write, learning the political and financial machinations that take place within
companies to produce a working (and sometimes profitable) airline was most
revealing. In contrast, the new
rulemaking concerning electronic devices on airlines lacked any actual industry
action or changes for the passengers. While
staying ahead of proposed changes to come is significant, this topic did not
lend itself to any substantial consequence.
Having the opportunity to interact with
professionals from the industry was the most stimulating part of the
class. While all were interesting and
appropriate, Mark Johnson’s presentation was impressive. Mr. Johnson showed a wealth of knowledge and
experience of airport operations, as well as a passion for aviation. His 20 year battle to improve Livingston
County Airport demonstrated his dedication to aviation. Additionally, learning all the intricacies of
what goes into owning an airport and developing the field was extremely
interesting and revealed the bureaucracy and behind the scenes effort that goes
into maintaining a general aviation airfield.
For the future: I have been told there
are many things that cannot be done without a degree, and soon I can consider
this restriction dropped. Among them,
becoming an Air Force officer and more specifically a pilot in the A-10. As an enlisted Airman I will seek work on base
full time while applying for this position.
In addition, I am now equipped to define, maintain, and comport myself
as a professional within the industry.
The importance of presenting oneself as a professional has been taught
to us all, and will no doubt encourage the positive contact of others in
aviation, opening more doors that we do not yet know exist.
References
Shonk, J. (December 10, 2013). Graduating
and moving on to greater things. How to
be awesome, 19(88), 13.
