Staff Spotlight: Carissa Neff

 

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    Carissa and Harper and Penny
    Title: Academic Program Coordinator 

  • Additional Kent State University affiliations/committee service: 

    • Lecturer - Elements of Flight Theory

    • Certified Flight Instructor 

  • Outside of Kent State University professional affiliations/hobbies: 

    • Hobbies include golfing, sewing, and traveling.

  • What is your academic degree? 

    • Bachelors of Science, Aeronautics – Flight Technology

      • Kent State University Alumna - 2015

  • What inspired you to work in Higher Education? 

    • After graduating, I worked as a Flight Instructor for Kent State while I built the hours I needed to become an Airline Pilot. Once I was at the airlines, I realized my heart was in Education and jumped at the opportunity to come back to work for KSU while getting to continue to work in aviation. This job gave me the best of both worlds combining my two passions.

  • What motivates you/what gets you out of bed in the morning? 

    • Literally and figuratively, my dogs. I grew up without pets, so when I got my first dog 5 years ago, I had no idea how much joy and happiness they would bring to my life. My dogs' names are Penny and Harper. 

  • Why do you like working at Kent State University (and in CAE)? 

    • Easy. The people. I get to work with such a great group of diverse people who make coming to work enjoyable.

  • What is your favorite part of your job?  

    • My favorite part of my job is getting to see our students progress from course to course, earning their pilot certificates, and seeing them develop over the years into professional pilots. We have current CFIs in our program who were my students in the Private Pilot course, and it is so exciting to see how far they’ve come and see them now teaching the next generation of students.

  • What are you most looking forward to seeing in the future of CAE? 

    • I’m looking forward to seeing the Aircraft Maintenance program come to CAE. It will be a great addition to the aviation program and will allow us to expand into another sector of the aviation community.

  • What is a fun fact about yourself? 

    • My two favorite TV series are New Girl and Parks and Recreation. A good comedy is always my go-to.

  • What is your biggest accomplishment to date? 

    • My biggest accomplishment to date would be earning my Airline Transport Pilot Certificate. The training was long and challenging, so when I passed my check ride, I was overjoyed.

POSTED: Friday, January 8, 2021 02:49 PM
UPDATED: Friday, April 26, 2024 05:24 PM