When Lauren Quandt was 7 years old her family visited the Kennedy Space Center. They witnessed a satellite launch and she was captivated. At 7 years old, she began researching the lives of astronauts, watching documentaries, reading books, and learned that a lot of astronauts became pilots first, so she knew what she had to do. In high school, she had the chance to dual-enroll at MIAT College of Technology and spent half of high school and an additional year after high school working toward her Airframe and Powerplant mechanic's license and an associate's degree from MIAT.
For maintenance, her mentor is Steve Paone, who invited her to work with him fixing aircraft at the local airport while she was taking flight lessons. Her flight mentor is William Kuehnel, her first flight instructor. She is still in touch with both and continues to work at the local airport with Steve Paone, during the summers between school years at Western Michigan University.
She is currently a student at Western Michigan University, double majoring in aviation flight science and aviation maintenance technology. She has won scholarships through Women in Aviation International (WAI), Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), Western Michigan University's College of Aviation, and just recently, a scholarship through the Michigan Business Aviation Association. In 2014, she was also involved in Civil Air Patrol and won the 2014 Cadet Leadership Award, the 2015 AFA Squadron Cadet of the Year, and the 2015 Mary von Mach Scholarship.
Quandt began working as a line technician at Avflight Willow Run in order to pay for flight lessons. The job required her to learn how to tow, fuel, and service aircraft ranging from Cessna 172s to Gulfstream IVs to Boeing 737s. At that time, she was finishing up the degree program at MIAT, A&P already in hand, and beginning classes at Henry Ford Community College, taking pre-requisite classes in preparation to attend Western Michigan University. Next, Sierra West, a cargo company, brought in a Boeing 727 to be hangared at Avflight to complete a C-check. Eager to use her A&P, she asked if they would be willing to hire her. They agreed and she began working as a temporary assistant A&P. By the time the check had been completed, she had been offered a position as a flight engineer. She declined in order to finish school and attain a bachelor's degree. She hopes to be working at Western Michigan University as a flight instructor by this winter.
Nominated by Amy Kienast, director of career services, MIAT College of Technology: "After a family vacation to the Kennedy Space Center, Lauren thought she might want to be an astronaut and continued her research throughout her school years. Lauren is a double major in aviation flight science and aviation maintenance technology at Western Michigan University. In addition to her studies, she has been a multiple scholarship winner. Her long-term goal is to work in corporate aviation where she would be a pilot and mechanic on the aircraft. During the summers, Lauren works at a local airport assisting an A&P/IA with annual inspections and 100-hour inspections. She has experience on a variety of aircraft that include Cessna 172 and a Cardinal. Lauren is very competitive in nature, and has competed with the precision flight team at the NIFA Safety and Evaluation Conference, received her Commercial Single Engine and Commercial Multi Engine Airplane Certificates, and represented Western while competing in the Air Race Classic. In August 2017 she began training to become a flight instructor, as well."
To give back to the industry, she participates in aviation events and encourages young people to give aviation a shot. "I cannot wait to become a flight instructor so that I can share my love for the industry with others," she says.
Her goal is to become both a corporate pilot and mechanic for a company. She believes that the things she has learned as a pilot will help her as a mechanic, and vice versa. "I want to be able to fly aircraft, but when something goes wrong," she says, "I want to have the ability to diagnose and fix the problem."
