One of many high school students arrived at the Southern Illinois Airport to participate in the 2023 United Airlines and SIU Air Career Day. (Photo by Carson VanBuskirk)
October 16, 2024
United Airlines-SIU Aviation Career Day helps students plan future flight paths
CARBONDALE, Ill. — More than 130 Chicago-area high school students will join Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s nationally recognized aviation program when United Airlines takes them to Southern Illinois Airport near Murphysboro on Saturday, Oct. 19. will be introduced to.
United Airlines Captain Tom Stewart, First Officer Trent Medernach, and 29 United Airlines volunteers, many of whom are also SIU Aviation alumni, join students considering a career in aviation at the 24th annual We plan to assist you in developing your own flight plan during your United-SIU aviation career. day.
Career-oriented presentations to students will include a question-and-answer opportunity, a tour of the Glenn Poshard Transportation Education Center at Southern Illinois Airport, home of the aviation program, and a tour of the SIU campus. In addition to the high school students and United Airlines volunteers, five SIU Aviation staff members and student ambassadors will also arrive. Airline volunteers come from a variety of departments, including maintenance technicians, pilots, and flight attendants.
Partnership ‘win-win’ for United and SIU
SIU’s aviation program consists of aviation flight, aviation management, and aviation technology.
Flight school director Chen Tsun Lu said the cooperation with United Airlines, which dates back to 1994, is a “win-win activity” for the participating students, United Airlines and SIU Airlines. The program was temporarily interrupted by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lu added that Career Day gives students a deeper understanding of the program, curriculum and facilities, and that the event “highlights the aviation industry’s confidence in SIU’s aviation program.”
“Those are the future students that we want to recruit into our aviation program, and they can understand the aviation program environment on campus,” Lu said, adding that many of SIU Aviation’s alumni I mentioned working for United Airlines.
“We want to maintain a strong connection with our airlines, which provides a strong and reliable pathway for our graduates to attend United Airlines and other universities. It’s a great activity for a mutually beneficial event.”
The partnership extends beyond Career Day. In September 2022, SIU and United signed an agreement to provide the safest career path for aviation students interested in becoming professional pilots through United’s Aviation Career Development Program. As members of the Aviate University Partners, SIU aviation students and instructors who apply and pass the Aviate selection process will participate in the program, receive a conditional job offer from United Airlines, and benefit from a defined career path.
“We are very excited to continue our long-standing partnership with United Airlines and SIU. More importantly, this is a great opportunity for our students,” said Stewart, a Chicago-based captain, line check pilot and flight manager. That’s what happens,” he said. “We look forward to engaging our students and showing them the wide range of career opportunities at United. We will do everything we can to make their dreams a reality.”
Media availability
Reporters, photographers, and camera crews are welcome to attend United Airlines-SIU Aviation Career Day, take part in courtesy flights, and interview students, faculty, and alumni. The plane is scheduled to land at Southern Illinois Airport between 8:45 and 9 a.m. Saturday. Activities will continue until 3pm, with a lunch break at 11:20am. For more information, please contact Flight School Director Chien-Tsung Lu at 618-453-8898 or chientsung.lu@siu.edu.
Students piloted by SIU Aviation graduates
This is Stewart’s first time making this trip by plane. A 1991 graduate of Lake Park High School, Stewart began studying aviation at SIU with just a 30-minute introductory flight recorded in his logbook. Over the next two years, he earned a certificate and evaluation to become a staff flight instructor during his junior year and an internship at United Airlines in Denver during his senior year.
After graduating from SIU Carbondale in 1995 and returning to Roselle, Stewart worked as a flight instructor and was hired by Continental Express Airlines in April 1998. He was hired by Continental Airlines in 2006 and flew the 757 and 767 for six years before transitioning to the 737. After the airline merged with United Airlines, Stewart was promoted to captain and became line check pilot in 2014.
Medernach joined United Airlines in January 2024 and flies 737s out of O’Hare Airport. Mr. Medernach, a Batavia native, began his flight training at the age of 16 at Aurora Airport in Sugar Grove, Illinois. He toured SIU Aviation as part of the SIU Aviation Career Day flight with United Airlines in 2014 and enrolled in fall 2015.
Medernach was a four-year member of the Flying Salukis and worked as a flight instructor during his senior year. After graduating in May 2019 with a major in aviation technology and aviation flight, he returned to Aurora Airport where he served as a flight instructor and mechanic before spending three years with SkyWest Airlines, including his final year as a captain. . Medernach volunteered as a judge for the flying team competition.
Career opportunities are increasing
Over 3,000 high school students have participated throughout the event’s history. Organizers note that while aimed at introducing students to the wide range of opportunities in aviation, Career Day also serves as a recruitment mechanism, particularly for women and other underrepresented groups. . The number of participants varies each year, but between 5 and 20 participants return to SIU each year to pursue a career in aviation.
Boeing’s 2024-2043 Pilot and Technician Outlook predicts that the number of aircraft worldwide will nearly double, resulting in 674,000 pilots and 710,000 maintenance technicians over the next 20 years. It is predicted that 2.3 million new civil aviation jobs will be needed, including 6,000 new flight attendants and 980,000 flight attendants.
(Editor’s note: Lou’s first name is pronounced “Jane-Zone.”)
