The stories of 9/11’s aviation’s heroes continue to prove that today’s young aviation managers – tomorrow’s leaders – can learn lessons and apply them to meet challenges in their personal and professional lives.
The Human Resiliency Institute at Fordham University, which offers Edge4Vets, and Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) partnered in 2024 to expand the “Reclaiming the Sky” Resiliency Project build on gains made during the “pilot” program of 2023. SSP America provided sponsorship support to make the program possible.
Young Professionals, those under forty years of age who work in middle management jobs at airports and airport service companies across the US and Canada, were invited to read the stories of aviation heroes profiled in the book, “Reclaiming the Sky,” by Tom Murphy, and participate in a workshop with aviation mentors to explore the lessons of resiliency.
As a follow up, they were offered a chance to compete in an essay competition to express what they learned. Three winners were announced this week and will be presented with their awards of $1000, $500 and $250 at ACI-NA’s annual conference in Grand Rapids, MI on September 10.
The winners are First Place: Eric Caplan, Sustainability and Resilience Program Director, Tampa International Airport; Second Place: Fabian Guevara, Analyst, Connico; and Third Place, Megan Adair, Executive Assistant, Departure Media.
Their winning stories can be read at ReclaimingTheSky.com.
Young Professionals were given free Ebook copies of “Reclaiming the Sky” and a chance to read the stories of airport and airline employees who came to work in New York, Boston and Washington, DC on the morning of 9/11 expecting a normal day, only to find that “just doing my job” was to become the creed of heroes. The stories tell how the front-line aviation employees responded with courage, selfless and resiliency that day and in the weeks and months that followed to rebuild their lives and reclaim hope – while helping to get the country moving again.
The top award, the “Susan M. Baer Award,” is named for Susan Baer who was General Manager of Newark Liberty International Airport on 9/11.
In addition to cash prizes, first, second and third place essay winners have earned free registration to ACI-NA’s annual conference in Grand Rapids, MI, in September to meet with today’s leaders and build their network of aviation contacts.
The project, which supports the development of the next generation of aviation leaders, is planned for expansion in 2025, including extending participation to University Aviation Association and its 128 member schools with 95,000 aviation high school and college students in North America.
Young Professionals participating in 2024 included: Kevin Podsiad, Hillsborough County Aviation Authority; Kristin Jewell, Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport; Eric Caplan, Tampa International Airport; Terasia Arrington, Charlotte Douglas International Airport; Caleb Claxton, Connico; Elie Germain, Connico; Veronica Takacs, Connico; Fabian Guevara, Connico; Faroq Al-Rjoub, Connico; Noah Yarnell, Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority; Elizabeth Cunninghan, Philadelphia International Airport; Carey Metcalfe, Minneapolis St Paul International Airport; Bulent Ulas, River Island Airport Solutions; Kerry Adams, Departure Media; Megan Adair, Departure Media; Armin Mahboubi, Jazz Aviation LP.
Judges for the essay competition included aviation industry leaders: Bob Stanton, Cedric Fulton, Lysa Leiponis, Eileen Ammiano, Kathy Denker and Debbie Roland.
For more information, visit ReclaimingTheSky.com. For aviation companies looking to participate in the expansion in 2025, contact Tom Murphy at Tom@edge4vets.org.
