Aviation Program Personal Statement

Aviation is one of the nation’s most historic and captivating industries. Since the discovery of the first motor operated airplane in 1903, the industry has ballooned to a market size of over $472 Billion. In the United States alone, the aviation industry employs nearly 1.3 million people, while flying nearly 600 million passengers annually. The industry overall has transformed the manner in which goods, services, and people commute, thereby enhancing business efficiencies and national productivity. The industry itself has helped to facilitate globalization, international travel, and commerce. All of these benefits ultimately enhance the overall quality of life for the United States and the world overall.

As an applicant to the Ph.D. in aviation program, I too desire to improve the quality of life for residents within my home country of Nigeria. My aim through admission into this program, is to help facilitate an improved aviation program in Nigeria, similar to that of the rest of the world. It is my belief that Nigeria can benefit from many of the commerce and globalizations trends other nations in the world have obtained. Although the Nigerian aviation industry is fledgling, I believe completion of this program will provide me with the necessary background and skills to usher in a new era of aviation growth within the country. Specifically, I intend to use the skills obtained from this program towards government aviation operations within the country.

To begin, my prior work experience has equipped me with the necessary skills required to properly complete the Ph.D. program. Through my work experience, I have a demonstrated track record of not only preforming well, but doing so in very challenging and stressful environments. I have worked in the airline industry specifically since 1984, starting my career with Pan African Airlines. This was an entry level position where I was responsible for power plant maintenance, airframe scheduling, and other forms of reporting. Although an entry level position I quickly leveraged my strong work ethic and passion for the industry into a promotion to assistant supervising engineer. Here, I was responsible for supervising other maintenance personnel to ensure policies and procedures related to jet engine maintenance tracking and scheduling were adhered to. This position was a very important position, as any critical mistake in engine maintenance could result in the potential loss of life of passengers and employees. In addition, the inability to complete proper maintenance can result in flight delays and cancelations, further inhibiting the revenue and profitability of the airline. As airlines historically operate on very thin margins, my position was critical to ensuring all airlines where operational and safe for use. This position as a result, required a heavily emphasis on attention to detail, strong internal controls, and deliberate oversight of documentation to ensure adherence to all applicable standards.

From the promotion, I continued to take additional leadership positions with airlines throughout the African region. These positions included stints with Nigeria Airways, Pan Am World Airways, and Omni Airways. The most notable of which was my stint at Omni Airways, where I am currently employed. At Omni, I again worked as a maintenance supervisor, managing mission critical work and processes for the airline. However, during this position, I was also responsible for certain business elements with the company. In addition to my role of supervising maintenance personnel, I was also charged with administering strategic marketing and business plans for the entire organization. This experience enhanced my collaboration, teamwork, communication, and time-management skills. The overall creation of the business plans leveraged many different operational functions of the business including finance, accounting, marketing, human resources, and more. To properly derive a compelling business plan, I was charged with providing input in the strategic direction of the organization while also monitoring adherence to the final plan.

My experience with Omi Airways substantiated and bolstered my ability to communicate with others, lead a strategic team, and ultimately achieve success within the aviation industry. This success at Omni ultimately created a desire to solve other problems and processes within the African aviation industry. It also encouraged me to learn more about the industry overall, its dynamics, and how to apply these learnings to improve African aeronautical operations. To accomplish this, I enrolled and successfully completed my associates degree at Miami Dade College. I then parlayed this success into a Bachelors of Science degree in Aeronautics at Embry-Riddle. Finally, I will receive my Masters in Aeronautics at Embry Riddle this coming March.