Federal Aviation Administration official visits Aviation students.

Delaware State University’s Aviation Program received a recent friendly visit from Federal Aviation Administration official Tim Arel, who spoke with students and looked at the program’s base of operations at the Delaware Air Park.

Mr. Arel – the Chief Operating Officer of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization – said he found out about DSU’s Aviation Program during a White House HBCU event last year, prompting him to make arrangements for a visit.

“Here so close to the nation’s capital, in an area where you’ve got Dover Air Force Base nearby, busy D.C. airspace, the northeast corridor, there is a tremendous demand for aviation here,” said Mr. Arel during his April 16 visit. “Having the DSU Aviation Program here in the State of Delaware in such a strategic location is very special.”

During his April 16 visit, Mr. Arel met with a group of DSU Aviation students and discussed the wide range of career possibilities beyond becoming a pilot.

“If you are in an aviation program trying to become a pilot or an aircraft mechanic, there is also air traffic control. And it is not just that, but every degree program and career field that DSU offers has an opportunity somewhere in aviation, whether it is with the FAA, the federal government, or the U.S. military, as well as any airline or aviation business, everyone needs people for logistics, budget, training, safety, and medical jobs,” Mr. Arel said. “You name it, every career field that you can think of exists within aviation.”

To ensure that information not only went to aviation students,” Mr. Arel was interviewed by WDSU-TV’s Solae White-Rogers for broadcast to the at-large campus student body.