Friday, November 22, 2024
The Weekly: Get top MTSU stories in your inbox by subscribing to The Weekly, a Sidelines newsletter delivered each Wednesday.

‘Game changer’: Delta, MTSU partner to provide aerospace students path to pilot career

Date:

Share post:

Photo courtesy of Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines Inc. is launching a new program to identify and mentor the next generation of pilots, and MTSU’s Department of Aerospace has been selected as one of eight initial collegiate partners, according to an MTSU press release.

The Delta Propel Pilot Career Path Program is an effort by Delta to hire an expected number of over 8,000 pilots in the next decade. The program aims to provide successful candidates with a “Qualified Job Offer,” or QJO, detailing a defined path and an accelerated timeline for students to become Delta pilots.

Students with a QJO will receive an advanced engagement opportunity that will immerse them in Delta culture on and off campus, including a Delta pilot as a mentor for the duration of their training and career.

MTSU was selected as one of eight universities in the country with accredited aviation programs in which Delta will select aviation students for this program. Sidelines spoke with Nick Lenczycki, the flight operations program manager for MTSU’s Department of Aerospace, for comments.

“To have a company like this recognize MTSU as one of the eight schools in the country that they want to partner with is just remarkable,” Lenczycki said.

Lenczycki spoke about the importance of this program for students.

“It’s an accelerated path for the dream job for many of our students,” Lenczycki said. “The opportunity to work for Delta (and) to fly all over the world, it’s just an incredible opportunity for them … It recognizes the top-tier training that we do here (and) the world-class instruction that we provide.”

MTSU’s Department of Aerospace was established in 1942. Currently, 29 full-time faculty and staff members, 50 flight instructors and 800 majors place it among the largest of the nation’s collegiate aviation programs. Aerospace students can choose from six concentrations: Professional Pilot, Maintenance Management, Aviation Management, Flight Dispatch, Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations and Aerospace Technology. A master’s degree in aeronautics is also offered.

Lenczycki said that around 400 of these 800 aerospace majors are on the professional pilot track, and the news of Delta’s program has already garnered “buzz” among students.

“I can tell you that just (by) listening to buzz in the hallway over the last day, it’s a game changer for a lot of folks,” Lenczycki said. “It’s just a tremendous opportunity for our students, and to know in their junior year that they got a qualified job offer and are on a path to go to a major (airline) is just phenomenal.”

For additional information on the Delta program, visit here.

To contact news Editor Caleb Revill, email newseditor@mtsusidelines.com.

For more news, follow us at www.mtsusidelines.com, on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines and on Twitter at @Sidelines_News.

Related articles

MTSU, medical school accepted six students into fast-tracked program

Feature photo from Sidelines Archive by Hannah Carley Story by Hannah Carley MTSU selected six medical students for this year’s...

Are You A Match: Kyelen Arora and Cade Ortego and the Moodswings join Match Records roster

Feature photo by Jaedyn Barnaby Story by Kerstie Wolaver A rainy Tuesday night couldn’t stop a swarming crowd from gathering...

MTSU club hockey earns No. 5 spot in latest rankings

Feature Photo by Caitlyn Hajek Story by Ephraim Rodenbach MTSU club hockey made history this past week by earning its highest ranking in team history. After a series sweep of in-state rival Vanderbilt that included an 8-0 shutout, the Blue Raiders climbed to the No. 5 spot in Division II club hockey rankings.

Mr. Dynamite: The Legacy of James Brown brings the funk to MTSU’s Center for Popular Music

Feature photo by Caitlyn Hajek Story by Shauna Reynolds He was talented. He was complicated. He was influential. But most memorably,...