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| Clara Bennett ’91 |
It may be a groan-inducing cliché, but it’s still correct to say Clara Bennett’s life took off while she was still a student at Florida Tech. Bennett, who earned a bachelor’s degree in aviation management in 1991, earned her wings professionally and personally on the Melbourne campus.
Bennett, now the airport manager at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, believes the Florida Tech degree is still an important part of her success.
“I believe the degree has a lot of recognition in the industry and is valued by those in leadership positions at airports around the country,” said Bennett. “Florida Tech alumni look out for each other in the aviation industry—the networking opportunities are amazing.”
While still a student at Florida Tech, she heard her true calling when she developed a keen interest in noise abatement. Her studies
as an undergraduate led to an
internship in the field and later,
her first job.
“I rose through the ranks (to my current position) as a noise officer. One very important part of my education was to do an internship in a noise office for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority at the Orlando International Airport (OIA),” said Bennett. “It was a great place to get my first training because that office touches on the social and political aspects of running an airport as well as the technical and legal ones.”
Even though she now runs the entire show in her current position, noise abatement and addressing community concerns is still a big part of Bennett’s job.
“The most challenging aspect of my position here is ensuring that the negative aspects of airport operations are minimized because of the concerns of the community. As an urban airport, we’re completely surrounded by neighborhoods, so we have to go the extra mile to balance the needs of the aviation industry with the residential needs of the people living near the airport,” she said.
Bennett believes that student pilots can quickly learn how important their actions as individuals will be for airport-neighborhood relations.
“Training is the right time to instill in future pilots the sense that they are flying over someone’s home and small adjustments in the way they fly make a big difference,”
she said.
As the manager of one of the busiest general aviation airports in the country, Bennett confesses there is no such thing as a typical day for her. In addition to addressing neighborhood concerns, she divides her time between real estate management (the airport’s 47 different leases, including fixed-base operations and an extensive industrial park), cutting through red tape and working hand-in-hand with Fort Lauderdale’s City Hall.
And while 15 years of experience has served her well, she acknowledges that the course work at Florida Tech gave her a strong foundation for her future career.
“The curriculum itself was very solid,” said Bennett. “The courses gave me a strong foundation in the management and business end of the operation as well as technical aviation aspects. Airport management, airport design and aviation law courses all served me well after graduation. Even in my first job, I had a strong understanding of some of the macro-issues that affected OIA.”
 While her time at Florida Tech gave Bennett the tools she needed to build a strong career, her life away from the classroom was equally uplifting. While at Florida Tech, she met her husband of 15 years, Bill. The couple has two boys, Nicholas, 10, and Mitchell, 6 (pictured to the right).
“The most amazing, most important, most wonderful part of my time at Florida Tech was meeting Bill,” said Bennett. “We met during spring orientation week before my freshman year and have been together ever since. Even if my career had gone a different way, I would always have been grateful to Florida Tech for my family. It’s safe to say I will always have a soft spot for the university.”
Jay Wilson |
