In Their Shadows - Kathryn Marquart
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Photography courtesy of Marquart
Kathryn Marquart is a senior majoring in professional pilot with a minor in aviation
management. She graduated from Edward S. Marcus High School in Lewisville, Texas,
in 2007 and began flying airplanes in April of the same year. She passed her private
pilot check ride in August before starting school at OSU.
At OSU, Marquart has continued flying and recently became a certified flight instructor.
The honor roll student is involved with the Flying Aggies, the American Association
of Airport Executives and Women in Aviation and is active in Gamma Phi Beta sorority.
During the summer, she landed an internship working in flight operations with American
Airlines at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.
“During the past three years at OSU, I have made countless friends and memories,” she says. “OSU is more than I could have asked for in a university. The sense of home is one of the reasons I love it so much.”
Marquart, who will graduate in May 2011, plans to continue building flight hours and
to begin working for a regional airline. Her career goal is to work for a major airline.
Marquart’s Journal
When my alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 6, 2010, I knew it was going to be a long
but exciting day. I traveled to Memphis, Tenn., to shadow the president and CEO of
Pinnacle Airlines, Phil Trenary. I flew from Dallas to Memphis on a Delta Connection
CRJ-200 operated by Pinnacle.
After landing in Memphis at 7:40 a.m., I met Alex Cox, a communications specialist
at Pinnacle, who drove me to the office building.
I arrived at the Pinnacle Headquarters around 8 a.m. and met Phil Trenary. Mr. Trenary
and I sat in his office and talked about OSU, our flying program, and of course, the
Flying Aggies. Mr. Trenary, an OSU graduate, was an active member of Flight Team and
the Flying Aggies.
Around 9 a.m., Mr. Trenary had a question and answer session with a member of the
communications staff for the Pinnacle’s quarterly magazine. Currently, Pinnacle is
purchasing Mesaba Airlines, so most of the questions were about the merger.
After the interview for his magazine, Mr. Trenary took me on a tour of Pinnacle. He
showed me the Colgan Airlines and Pinnacle Airlines dispatch and the crew scheduling
centers, which handle flight plans and the weights and balances of the aircraft.
Around 11:30, Mr. Trenary, Alex and I went to lunch. On the way, they took me on a
scenic tour of the river and pointed out some of their favorite spots. I noticed that
nearly everything on the menu had oysters in it. Mr. Trenary told me the reason why
Memphis has such fresh seafood, despite being a land-locked state, is because FedEx’s
headquarters are there. Restaurants can always have fresh seafood shipped in.
After lunch, I sat in on a financial meeting with Mr. Trenary, the chief financial
officer, and the managing director of the flight. They ran numbers by each other and
made sure everyone was on the same page financially.
Around 2 p.m., Alex and I went to the simulator building just a few miles down the
road from headquarters. This was probably the highlight of my day because I flew a
CRJ-200 simulator. I even taught Alex how to land and what flight directors are.
Around 4:30 p.m., we went back to headquarters where we wrapped up the office part
of the day. After we said our goodbyes to all office personnel, Mr. Trenary showed
me around Memphis. I saw Beale Street and even tried my first oyster. He also showed
me where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. After a quick tour and dinner, Mr.
Trenary dropped me off at the Memphis airport.
The visit was truly an experience of a lifetime!
One of the main things that I learned during my trip to Memphis and about Pinnacle
Airlines is how it all began. Mr. Trenary told me he actually started Pinnacle at
Oklahoma State right after he finished his bachelor’s degree.
After spending some time visiting with Mr. Trenary, it’s clear that qualities like
honesty, patience and teamwork are important in his position.
This article was featured in Education Magazine. View full publication below.