Managing Matthew Wietstock: Pursuing a Career in Operations through Flight
Matthew Wietstock is not your typical pilot. His approach to higher education, which initially featured a music-composition major at Western Michigan University, is a bit backward. Double majors in the College of Aviation are not that unusual, but Wietstock's prime path leads to a degree in aviation management and operations and then one in aviation flight science. Peers normally reverse that plan.
Makenna Staudacher – Freshmen, Family and Finding Aviation Gold at WMU
"My family is full of pilots," says the aviation flight science major. "I was always at the airport as a kid. I have been around airplanes my entire life and soloed on my 16th birthday." Hailing from Midland, where Michigan's fabled "thumb" attaches to the rest of the mitten, her choice of WMU as her future in higher education was predictable. "My grandparents went to Western and my cousin -- Jeremy Hierholzer -- is on the aviation faculty," she says.
Escalating Aviation Opportunities with Emma Hughes
Emma Hughes, who grew up in Kiel, Wis., about an hour north of Milwaukee, definitely flies in the shadows of Earhart and the rest these days. She represents Western and its aviation program in the Air Race Classic, the annual 2,400-mile transcontinental event for female pilots who range in age from 17 to 90 and come from the ranks of students, teachers, doctors, airline pilots and business owners. Established in 1929 and attracting Cochran, Coleman and their peers, it was once known as the Powder Puff Derby.
There “Arndt” Reasons to Skydive? Teagan Works to Maintain and Jump
Finding His Footing – Calvin Freeland Lands in the Right Career
Setting his Sights – Sam Stallman Strives for Success
As “Goodison” as it Gets: Miranda’s Ascension into Aviation
Flying High with Fink – Jason’s Jaunt to WMU’s College of Aviation
College of Aviation students always have amazing reasons for choosing their career path, but Jason Fink's might rate as No. 1. The Houston senior caught the aviation bug from the stories his grandfather told when he was a U.S. Navy radio operator on flights hunting for enemy submarines during the Cold War. That also prompted the major in aviation flight science in his pre-Western days to pursue a private-pilot certificate back in his home state of Texas.
Michael Richardson: Wings, Wax Records and Making it Happen
Richardson, a senior at Western majoring in aviation flight science, says he got the flying bug from the birds, but it didn't become something of a personal pandemic until his last year in high school. And it took a bit of soul-searching. "I asked myself about all the things that interested me," he recalls. "There was a tie among music education, culinary arts, photography and aviation. As a kid, I was always fascinated with flying. Driving around with my parents, I would always tend to watch the skies."
The Perfect Landing for Eli Lantz – WMU’s College of Aviation
Hailing from the area around the Capitol City of Lansing, Lantz says he had "a life-long interest in aviation, but I never thought I would make it a career until I learned about Western's aviation school." Now in his senior year, he's majoring in aviation management and operations, complementing that with a minor in general business. "When I learned that Western had this specialized program, I knew it would be a good fit for me."