On Friday, April 24, 2015, Meridian proudly celebrated Career Day by hosting local high school students and giving them a flavor for what it’s like to work in Aviation. Three busloads of students arrived throughout the morning from Becton Regional High School, New Milford High School and Barringer High School, with each school sending 25 students.
Prior to arriving at Meridian, the 2015 Career Expo made several stops in and around Teterboro Airport. The first stop was at the Teterboro Airport Administrative Building, where exhibitors from various agencies (Port Authority of NY & NJ, FAA, and TSA) provided information and interacted with students. Next was a stop at the Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighters (ARFF) building, where the classes received a tour by the Port Authority ARFF Unit.
The next stop was Meridian. The students were greeted in the main lobby where Betsy Wines, VP of Customer Service & HR, and Andrea Politis, Customer Service Representative, introduced the students to the world of Customer Service and Fixed Base Operators (FBOs). Then they were given a complete tour of the Meridian facility by Amber Salvatore, Meridian’s Event Planner.
The first stop along the tour was the Meridian main hangar where John Langschultz, VP of Maintenance, displayed various aircraft maintenance parts and tools, including a cockpit voice recorder, a fire bottle, an aircraft wheel, and an electronic locator transmitter.
The tour then continued to the Line Service Department, where Carlos Rodriguez, Line Service Training & Safety Coordinator, educated the students about careers in Line Service. On display were several items commonly used by Line Service technicians, including a deicer and a tug with an attached tow-bar. The display was then followed by a walk to the Line shack where students were able to look out a window to view live ramp operations and ask questions.
The tour then went upstairs to the Charter Department, where Amber showed the young visitors the various aspects of Charter operations, including sales, flight support, quality assurance, safety, and other aspects of the business. After the tour was completed, the students boarded their buses and ended their day at the Teterboro Operations building (Hangar 1) for lunch.
Each year, the Career Expo is organized by Teterboro Airport Operations to expose students to Aviation as a dynamic and long-term career opportunity. While last year the expo was limited to only juniors and seniors, this year the schools were open to all students who expressed an interest in aviation. Meridian was proud to participate in today’s activities in helping the future of our industry.
