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Heath Montgomery, '05, smiles in front of an aircraft.

Such Great Heights: UNC Alumni Working in Aviation

当谈到皇冠app官方版下载的教育能把你带到哪里时,天空是无限的,只要问就行了 Heath Montgomery, ’05, and Leah Schultz, ’17.

在不同的专业和年级,皇冠app官方版下载的校友在他们的教育中不断达到新的高度. Aviation permeates many aspects of our lives; we all have a fascination or story that involves an airport. In travel hubs across the country, UNC alumni work to create 为每年数百万游客提供最好的体验.  

希思·蒙哥马利,05级,达拉斯堡通讯和营销副总裁 沃斯机场(DFW)在过去的十年里,在他的航空事业中不断成长.  

蒙哥马利在科罗拉多州出生和长大,他进入皇冠app官方版下载追求自己的爱好,赚钱 degrees in Journalism and Political Science. He worked at the student newspaper, The Mirror, all four years and became the editor his final year. Throughout his college experience 他在《皇冠app官方版下载》(Denver Post)等刊物上寻求实习和工作,作为他们的业余时间 intern. 毕业后,蒙哥马利从事政治和社区报道工作 科罗拉多政治家报,哥伦拜恩信使报和博尔德每日相机报. 

从他十年的皇冠app安卓下载安装工作经验中,他转向了公共工作 运用他在现场报道中磨练出来的人际关系技巧——包括写作、人际关系 skills and translating complex topics into understandable communications. That move 很快,他就在丹佛国际机场(DEN)担任了他在航空业的第一个角色 he fell in love with the industry. 

“这是理查德·布兰森(Richard Branson)的名言,‘如果有人给了你一个绝佳的机会 如果你不确定你能做到,那就答应吧——然后再学习怎么做.’ It's 因为在我职业生涯的每一步,我都不确定我是否能做到这一点 next thing until I said yes and believed that I could.” 

— Heath Montgomery

如果你熟悉皇冠app安卓下载安装机场的谣言和阴谋论, 比如住在那里的地下蜥蜴人,或者周围的爱情 一座32英尺高的蓝色野马雕塑,在你开车时迎接你 去机场,被科罗拉多人称为“蓝西法”,被它的创造者你称为“野马” have Montgomery to thank – at least in part.  

“最后我负责管理丹佛国际机场的社交媒体频道,所以我真的 rebuilt that program almost from scratch. It was sort of when Twitter was taking off 作为一种与皇冠app安卓下载安装界和媒体沟通的公共方式才刚刚开始使用 it that way ... I hope that I brought a lot of fun to the airport ... while I didn't start the conspiracy theories; I started the idea of leaning into them as a marketing mechanism,” said Montgomery.

调查阴谋引发了公众对DEN的兴趣和对话 蒙哥马利将在探索频道,历史频道,全国播出 news, local news, and even a front-page story by the Denver Post on the conspiracies at DEN. 

在登登大学毕业后,蒙哥马利为了一个职业机会搬到了加州 他的妻子正在追求并在圣地亚哥的一家科技公司安定下来. However, he found himself missing aviation. So, when the opportunity became available 在洛杉矶国际机场(LAX),他欣然接受了回到自己家的机会 new career field of choice.

在洛杉矶国际机场工作了四年,沟通机场紧急情况,建筑项目, 新的路线和更多的东西,蒙哥马利有了另一个提升自己事业的机会 through a vice president role at DFW.

Today, Montgomery has worked at DFW – his third large U.S. airport – for just over 每年,我要管理40个人,负责营销、沟通、社区参与、 政府关系和管理这些部门数百万美元的预算. He oversees everything from the airport’s brand, including this year’s 50th 机场周年纪念,以及DFW如何与媒体和公众沟通 during a crisis response, and more. This is no small feat considering DFW is one of 世界上最繁忙和最大的机场,运作起来更像一个小城市 拥有自己的警察、消防、保安、作业、维修等部门 — it even has its own zip code and is larger than the island of Manhattan. 

从来没有想过他会在航空业工作,他给那些考虑的人的建议 the field is simple: 

“这是理查德·布兰森(Richard Branson)的名言,‘如果有人给了你一个绝佳的机会 如果你不确定你能做到,那就答应吧——然后再学习怎么做.’ It's 因为在我职业生涯的每一步,我都不确定我是否能做到这一点 next thing until I said yes and believed that I could.” 

Every step of Montgomery’s career path has been unexpected even to him. Yet he’s happy 他采取了一些有时可怕而艰难的步骤,让他在这个行业成长起来 leader he is now. 

Leah Schultz smiling.

Leah Schultz

17岁的利亚·舒尔茨是另一位从未想过会在航空领域工作的校友, she hadn’t anticipated going to college either.

“I chose UNC because I did a campus tour when I was looking. Quite honestly, I wasn't really looking at going to college ... It was my mom who encouraged me to apply, she told me to just take a tour [of UNC]. So, I did the tour and I really enjoyed it: the campus, meeting everybody.”

攻读通信,娱乐,旅游和酒店学位,舒尔茨 enjoyed her time on campus. Making the most of her experience, she participated in 去新奥尔良大学进行一个学期的全国学生交换 her junior year. Then, through a global communication course, she went to Barcelona for three weeks in the summer. Although aviation was not on her radar at the time, travel was a recurring theme throughout her time at UNC. 

她的职业生涯是从在内河游船上担任餐饮经理开始的 transitioned to working in hotels. After working in hospitality for a few years, she 回到格里利,成为皇冠app官方版下载丹佛地区的皇冠app官方版下载顾问 the pandemic. After working at her alma mater for a time, Schultz 转行进入招聘行业,在那里她找到了一份在家工作的招聘人员的工作 pilot hiring with United Airlines. 

“我现在意识到,我把我的学位用在了(我工作过的)每一个领域 有趣的是,在三个不同的旅游领域:陆地、海洋和空中。 Schultz. 

舒尔茨在招聘中最享受的就是找到最适合美联航的员工 and those who feel United is a perfect fit for them. Her background in customer service-oriented 角色让她非常适合,因为它展示了她与人交谈的能力 and being in a forward-facing role. Last year, Schultz helped hire over 2,300 pilots, making her previous experience a vital skill. 

舒尔茨和很多飞行员一起工作,所以经常有人问她是否想过 becoming one. Having gone on a discovery flight to see if she liked being up in the 但舒尔茨很快意识到,成为一名飞行员并不是一件容易的事 in the cards for her. 

 “It was turbulent, it was bumpy, I just did not have a good time ... I know that 如果我想成为一名飞行员,我就必须辞去我的工作,全职做飞行员 order to get my body used to it. I think I’ll just stick to hiring pilots instead,” said Schultz. 

蒙哥马利和舒尔茨都把皇冠app官方版下载的学位作为宝贵的工具 careers. With Montgomery’s start in journalism and Schultz’s in hospitality, their 不同的起点最终导致他们在广阔的航空中扮演不同的角色 industry. 最后,他们都顺利降落在他们认为自己正在工作的领域 in long-term. 

To explore the other industries of employment among UNC alumni, visit the UNC alumni employment dashboard available at xoxozerol.net/bears-go-big.

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