management program who has enjoyed his time at Dowling and finds it a thrill to fly a plane.
“Every time you push the power and the wheels come off the ground...it is a blast,” he said. “[My father and brother] went here and hearing all the stories from them, I knew that I would feel right here.” Senior Danielle Cirimello compared flying an airplane to driving a car, although many people may not agree. Cirimello is working toward her pilot license, and said that flying is the most exciting thing she’s ever done. “Taking off was scarier than landing was, because once you take off, there’s no turning back,” Cirimello said. Cirimello also said that the school is a second family to her, and a place she feels comfortable at.
“I got involved in aviation clubs and everyone has the same passion, so it’s an automatic connection no matter where you’re from,” she said. “It’s like a family over here. We automatically have a bond.?? ? With such a small number of students and professors, Dowling has the advantage of being a personal college, which is not always easy to find.
“We don’t just have educators here, we have life-experienced educators that have spent a tremendous amount of time in the industry as well,” Daly said. “Not only are they involved in teaching, they share the knowledge and passion for the nature of what we teach in the school of aviation.” Professor Ron Lindenfeld, who has been teaching since 2004, has had the opportunity to help and guide individuals through the program.
“Passion is a great word to describe it because it’s not the easiest material,” Lindenfeld said. “The students are very passionate about what they’re doing and they feel like they belong to it. They are really excited about where they’re going.” Dowling helps students get to where they want to be, but it’s not always just learning to fly planes.
Senior Alexandrine Ribas has her mechanics license, so she can fix planes, but she chose Dowling because she wanted to learn even more.
“Now I’m going for the management, so I’m getting the business aspect and am just trying to learn as much as I can about aviation,” she said. Professor Joe Donofrio has been teaching full time since 2007 and graduated from Dowling in 1970.
“I’m able to bring my 40 years of experience in the aviation field to motivate the students,” Donofrio said. “For me to be able to teach them the skills that they are required to have a successful career is very rewarding for me.” Dowling is a place that can create outstanding opportunities for people with an interest in aviation, and Daly is proud of the institution and finds the experience to be both rewarding and gratifying. “I don’t describe my career as work,” Daly said. “I describe my career as an adventure, and it has been from day one.”
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