The Backstory
My path to UND:
When I was 19 I enlisted in the US Marine Corps with an open aviation contract, meaning they could assign me any job as long as it related to aviation. I was assigned as a flightline mechanic on the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, but never got to do that job. When I was finishing my tech school, I received my orders to Marine Helicopter Squadron One to be a flightline mechanic for them, 1st on CH-46's, then on the famous VH-60n White Hawk. While there I became a crew chief and spent my last 2 years in the military working as a member of the flight crew.
I separated from the Marines late 2016 with the goal of getting into the design side of the aviation industry. I went to school at Iowa State University (go Cyclones) for mechanical engineering and interned with Rolls-Royce North America as a manufacturing engineer supporting their assembly line for small helicopter engines, most notably the M250. During this two year period, I had a lot of fun, learned a lot about aviation, but also came to realize that I missed flying every day. This desire to fly is what brought me to UND.
UND is one of the few places where I can earn all of my pilot ratings and complete my engineering degree. I made the move to Grand Forks, ND in time to start the spring semester of 2019 with the intention of utilizing both degrees as an Air Safety Investigator for a major airline.
Why Study Abroad?
The simple reason is I love to travel. In an ideal world I'll be able to visit all sovereign states and territories. This partnership that UND has with KAU is the only reason that I'll be able to. In 3 weeks, I'll complete a 200 level and a 400 level aviation course as well as a intro to the Korean language course (8 credits total).
When I was 19 I enlisted in the US Marine Corps with an open aviation contract, meaning they could assign me any job as long as it related to aviation. I was assigned as a flightline mechanic on the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, but never got to do that job. When I was finishing my tech school, I received my orders to Marine Helicopter Squadron One to be a flightline mechanic for them, 1st on CH-46's, then on the famous VH-60n White Hawk. While there I became a crew chief and spent my last 2 years in the military working as a member of the flight crew.
 |
| VH-60n at base of Yosemite Falls Yosemite National Park June 17, 2016 |
UND is one of the few places where I can earn all of my pilot ratings and complete my engineering degree. I made the move to Grand Forks, ND in time to start the spring semester of 2019 with the intention of utilizing both degrees as an Air Safety Investigator for a major airline.
Why Study Abroad?
The simple reason is I love to travel. In an ideal world I'll be able to visit all sovereign states and territories. This partnership that UND has with KAU is the only reason that I'll be able to. In 3 weeks, I'll complete a 200 level and a 400 level aviation course as well as a intro to the Korean language course (8 credits total).
 |
| A map I made showing (almost) all the places I've been to date |
Comments
Post a Comment