“It was hard to go anywhere without seeing the Western flag, or someone wearing a Western shirt,” said Alex Myers, the aviation engagement manager for the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at WMU.
Meyers said that he was pleased to see Western represented so well outside of Kalamazoo.
Myers (BS ’12, Psychology) traveled to the event with a handful of students and faculty this August. Myers said that the event was an excellent opportunity for students to network with people from companies within aviation, as CEOs and presidents from aviation companies were also in attendance. Myers said that calling it an airshow hardly does the event justice.
“The students primary role with being there were to be ambassadors; to recruit other students,” Myers said. “But what was great was that when the ambassadors had time in between recruiting, they were able to go out and talk to a lot of these other companies as well.”
Broncos had the chance to speak with high school students who might be interested in attending Western to do their aviation training, as well as younger kids who are curious about aviation in general. Myers said that there were also plenty of students involved in non-flight programs that are considering making the switch.
“There really is no other time where a student can meet this number of people within the industry,” Myers said. “This is where you want to network with just about anybody you’d want to. As well as connecting with other alumni about their experience in the program, and what they’re doing now is something I think is really important for our students.”
While checking out the aircrafts and mingling with guests are a large part of the event, Myers stated that they were also there to work. Myers and other WMU faculty visited aviation companies to learn how they can partner with them and create mutually beneficial relationships within their companies.
The event was also a time for Broncos to show their stripes. Flying in to the busiest airport in the world is no easy task, but the Broncos landed safe and sound, ready for a week filled with aviation events.
Myers said he was glad to see Bronco alumni in attendance, and was surprised to find out that a lot of alumni didn’t graduate from the College of Aviation. Many attending the event came from different educational backgrounds.
The College of Aviation is currently celebrating their 75th anniversary. To see a list of events, please click here.
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Pictured are members of the College of Aviation and the Sunseeker team, who were also in attendance.
Posted by Stan Sulewski