Embry-Riddle Places 40 Business Students in Summer Internships at Aviation and Aerospace Firms
Why It MattersBusiness-jet manufacturers and fractional providers such as Flexjet and Embraer Executive Jets are using summer internships as an early talent pipeline, alongside airlines, airports and suppliers.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's David B. O'Maley College of Business placed 40 students in summer internships at aviation and aerospace companies in the U.S. and abroad, according to Erin Minta, associate director of the university's Center for Career and Professional Development at the Daytona Beach Campus.
Among them was Ander Turueno Garcia, an Aviation Finance master's student who holds a bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Science and is a commercial pilot and certificated flight instructor. He interned with the sales team at Flexjet's global headquarters in Cleveland and with Embraer Executive Jets in Melbourne, Florida, which he said gave him views from both the manufacturer's and the fractional ownership provider's side. Gabriel L. Petersen, a senior Aviation Business Administration student also pursuing an MBA in Aviation Management, worked on Airport Operations policies and procedures at American Airlines in Dallas this summer, after a prior-summer internship with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority at Orlando International Airport. He has received a full-time job offer from American Airlines.
Luke Barber, a senior Aviation Business Administration student also pursuing an MBA in Aviation Management, was a summer sales intern at Safran Electrical & Power in Sarasota, Florida. Mauricio Brito, an MBA in Aviation Management student, and Bryce Gornto, a senior in Aviation Business Administration, interned at Wilmington International Airport in North Carolina, traveling weekly to airports of different sizes to learn about design, asset management and master planning, including environmental analysis and noise studies.
Joe Gibney, dean of the O'Maley College of Business, said students are prepared through resources such as the Finance and Analytics and Risk Management Lab and a trading lab with Bloomberg terminals, so they arrive at internships ready to contribute.
