Alumni Spotlight: Jared Hodge, Delta Airlines
Jared Hodge graduated from Auburn University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in professional flight. Early in his collegiate career, Hodge developed a passion for flight education and helping others succeed in their aviation training. He devoted time to proudly bleeding orange and blue as both a member of the War Eagle Flying Team, as well as a decathlete on the Auburn Track & Field team. In his senior year, Hodge served as president of the War Eagle Flying Team. After he completed his flight training at Auburn, he secured an internship at Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) in Atlanta, Georgia, in his junior year. During that internship, Hodge worked for the vice president of flight operations and the chief pilot office.
After graduation, Hodge took his passion for teaching to Pensacola, where he taught military pilots basic and advanced flying fundamentals as a civilian instructor. He then flew for a fractional leasing company, operating various Cessna Citation jets throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. In 2005, he accepted a pilot position with ASA and flew the CRJ-200, 700 and 900 aircraft as a first officer and captain.
In 2010, Hodge accepted a pilot position with Delta Air Lines and began his Delta career as a first officer flying the McDonald Douglas MD-88. He has served in various roles at Delta over the last 10 years, including flight operations duty manager in Delta’s Operations Command Center, pilot brand ambassador, and recruiter for the pilot recruitment team.
Currently at Delta, Hodge is a captain on the Airbus A319, A320 and A321, and he is a pilot instructor on the fleet. He also qualifies as an aircrew program designee, where he is authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct examinations, perform tests and issue approvals and A320 certificates on behalf of the FAA. As a training instructor, he works with his department to develop innovative teaching methods and new technology to improve the success of other Delta pilots.
Hodge gives credit to his Auburn degree, “I would not be in the position I am in now if it were not for the resources provided by Auburn University. Auburn taught me more than how to fly. Auburn taught me how to be a servant leader at work and in my community.”
Related Articles
-
Federal Aviation Administration hosts hypoxia training for Auburn student pilots
School of Aviation students now have more experience in emergency situations, without even leaving the ground, thanks to the FAA's hypoxia training. -
30 Under 30: Jacqueline Keck Chandler, '18, VP of business development
The Guntersville native and 2018 graduate discusses how her passion for data and people led to her to a career in economic development. -
Collin Perciballi, '11, a focus on Italian propelled his career in economic development
A study abroad experience at Auburn led him to pursue graduate study in Italy. -
‘The legacy begins with me’: Sherry Potts '23 earns political science degree at 70 years old
Sherry Potts, a Lanett, Alabama, native and first-generation Auburn graduate, knows it’s never too late to finish your education. -
English alumna publishes second poem in The New Yorker
The Birmingham native received her MFA from the University of Washington in 2016. -
Alumni Spotlight: Alyssa White, '14, PhD student at Oxford University
Alyssa White, '14, is pursuing her PhD at Oxford University where she is researching Japanese archaeology, human growth and development, transition to agriculture, and skeletal evidence of trauma and stress.