UMES opens their Aviation Maintenance Technician School
SALISBURY, Md. — University of Maryland Eastern Shore students were cleared for takeoff as the ribbon was cut on a new Aviation Maintenance Technician School.
“This is the first time that we’ve donated engines that are static or standalone to work on and also donating an airplane like the one behind us here. So this is a first for us,” said Piedmont President and CEO Eric Morgan.
Morgan said the airline serves smaller to midsize communities and that training local talent is more important than ever.
“It’s an investment in tomorrow for the community. And it’s an investment, again, in our business,” Morgan said. “We need talented workers. Our industry requires a lot of certifications, specific skill sets to work on these very sophisticated airplanes. And so if we can help create a workforce development pathway that allows local students to achieve that and gain that certification, we feel like that’s an investment in ourselves and an investment in the community that we live in.”
County officials said the donation will help grow the local economy.
“This will help grow the airfield. It will help grow commerce. It will give people great jobs, career jobs, family-supporting jobs. And the collaborative nature of this, that’s what I’m most proud of,” said David Ryan, executive director of the Salisbury-Wicomico Economic Development Corp.
He added that the donation is rare but will benefit students for years to come.
“Together we did it. We can do it for students. We can do it for great jobs in their community in the years to come,” Ryan said. “And the donation of this aircraft is monumental. I’ve never heard in my 33-year career of economic development a donation quite like this. So it’s going to benefit our students, and it’ll give them great job opportunities in the future.”
The excitement was on full display among students, teachers and community leaders.
“Having a 12-month rigorous program is unparalleled to anything, you know, and so we are just excited to host it here,” said Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano. “I think it’s just one more reason to put us on the map, and we’re really moving forward here on the Shore.”
Giordano added: “Not only can they do the technician maintenance side of things, but they can continue their aviation career or aviation education, or they can go right into a career, which is so exciting. This is an area that I think has been lacking. It seems to me that it’s so needed here, and so right here in Salisbury, Maryland.”
UMES students and faculty said they are grateful for everyone who helped them reach this milestone.
“I wish some of these people could see where we were like two years ago because they wouldn’t believe it,” said Owen, a certified flight instructor at UMES. “It’s a pretty big deal seeing it grow. I’ve been here since we were in the small hangar over there, and now we’re in this massive hangar. We had five planes before. We now have a whole fleet of all types of different planes.”
Owen added: “It gives students a whole lot more opportunity. We have partners from all sorts of airlines where us pilots and the maintenance as well can just flow right into the career that we’ve all dreamed of so easily.”
Nathan Nixon, a UMES pilot and tutor, said the collaboration makes him want to remain in the community after graduation.
“It shows that I’m a part of something that’s bigger than just the university here,” Nixon said. “And it really does make me want to stay down here.”
