CAMPUS FEATURE
Awarding Excellence
Congratulations to Juan Ortiz Couder (’19, ’21, ’25) for being named the Sunshine State Conference’s (SSC) Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2021-22. This recognition is the latest awarded to Ortiz Couder, who also earned the ITA/ NCAA II Senior Player of the Year, First Team Academic All-America Honors and closed the 2022 season ranking fifth nationally. His success on the court is just the beginning. While achieving athletic accolades, he earned a bachelor’s in Software Engineering, his master’s degree in the same discipline and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Ortiz Couder credits his success to supportive family, coaches, teammates and professors at Embry-Riddle.
CHANGING THE GAME All-female maintenance tech team impresses in competition
Team members also toured the facilities of major companies, such as Airbus, Bombardier and Delta Air Lines. “A lot of students do not know what they want to do once they graduate, and so I wanted to change the club to become geared toward helping students find their passions,” said team member Tea Galon (’22), who also serves as president of the Society of Aerospace Technicians, a campus group that helps students make connections within the aerospace industry. Passion, she added, is at the heart of this team’s involvement in the competition. For those interested in aviation maintenance, there has arguably never been a better time to break into the industry, according to Klaus. The Boeing Pilot and Technician Outlook projects a need for 132,000 new maintenance technicians by 2040 — that’s greater than the projected need for pilots in the same timeframe. The rise of commercial space has also contributed to that figure, as those trained in aviation maintenance can often bridge the gap and work on rockets and spacecraft.
For the first time ever, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University sent an all-female team to the worldwide Aerospace Maintenance Competition as the university continues its quest to open additional aerospace opportunities for underrepresented populations — such as women in aviation maintenance. “Only 2.6% of maintenance technicians in the nation are women — that’s the smallest percentage of women in the entire aviation workforce,” said Aviation Maintenance Science Assistant Professor Cristin Klaus, who serves as the team’s faculty advisor. “Having an all-female team represent Embry-Riddle is an enormous accomplishment for the university and paves the way for changing the face of aviation maintenance through diversity.” The all-female Embry-Riddle team was sponsored by Pratt & Whitney and came home with the United Airlines Competing with Professionalism team award.
I love competition, and I’m very proud of being an Eagle. If you enjoy competing and defending while doing something you enjoy, it’s a great mix.”
Juan Ortiz Couder ’19,’21,’25 Software Engineering Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
22 | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
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