Aviation Management students represent Auburn at top-level Skift Aviation Forum
Second-year aviation management students Max Yeast and Nicholas Tarasi represented Auburn students and aspiring airline managers everywhere as the only college students invited to attend the 2024 Skift Aviation Forum.
The Skift Aviation Forum invites global aviation leadership to discuss the future of aviation. Speakers include CEOs of major airlines, executives from international aviation associations and thought leaders from corporations such as Microsoft.
Yeast and Tarasi, who co-founded the Airline Management and Operations Association (AMOA) at Auburn, hope their attendance paves the way for more opportunities for Auburn students.
"It was really cool to be able to represent the university at this kind of level and represent our organization and the School of Aviation as a whole," Yeast said. "The mission of our organization is to expose, inform and connect Auburn students interested in airline management. This was the first major conference we had pursued, and we're trying to better prepare our students for careers in airline management and operations."
Forum topics covered the aviation industry's most pressing challenges and opportunities, from supply chain issues and regulatory changes to sustainable fuels and consumer trends.
Tarasi said they made great connections with the people who have shaped the aviation industry that they're currently studying in class.
"The whole conference basically painted a picture of the future of the aviation industry," Tarasi said. "We can spend time in textbooks and sort of look at the past, but when you go to one of those conferences, you hear from people who are literally making these decisions to determine the future of aviation. I think that's what I took away the most was just the knowledge gained from listening to these people talk about what's coming up."
Following the Skift Aviation Forum, AMOA welcomed Allison Ausband, chief customer experience officer at Delta Air Lines, to speak at a fall meeting. This spring, AMOA members will hear from the station manager for Choice Aviation Services, attend the inaugural Collegiate Aviation Symposium at Ohio State University and host a table at the spring Aviation Career Fair.
"It's a growing industry. A lot of people just see aviation as flying, and they don't realize all the different opportunities there are outside of the cockpit," Yeast said. "If, through the student organization and other opportunities through the School of Aviation, we let our students know how many more opportunities there are, we are going to help grow the future of aviation together."
For more information, follow AMOA on Instagram.
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