When management student Ryan Jubb sits down for a job interview and is asked about any hands-on experience he had in college, he can talk about his high-stakes work as a field supervisor and fleet manager for UMass Lowell鈥檚 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program.
He can also discuss his responsibilities coordinating and managing the maintenance of airplanes during his work at Mike Goulian Aviation, a flight school in Bedford, Massachusetts.
鈥淚鈥檝e been able to combine everything I鈥檝e learned about management in the Manning School of Business with my EMS work and my hobby of flying airplanes,鈥� the Millis, Massachusetts, native says.
Jubb鈥檚 interest in flying started in high school when he joined the cadet program of the Civil Air Patrol, the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.
鈥淚t looked like something fun to do,鈥� says Jubb, who went on to get his private pilot鈥檚 license and is a member of the New England Flying Club in Lawrence, Massachusetts.聽
鈥淚t's very freeing once you're out there and cruising at 3,000 feet. You get to enjoy the scenery, and it gives you a new perspective of everything on the ground,鈥� says Jubb, who enjoys flying friends to places like White Plains, New York, for lunch on a sunny day.
Jubb joined the EMS program during his freshman year after seeing the student emergency medical technicians (EMTs) patrolling campus.
鈥淚 never want to be in a spot where I don鈥檛 know how to help someone,鈥� says Jubb, who earned his EMT certification and quickly climbed the leadership ranks in the EMS program. During the summer before his senior year, he helped organize and host the first cross-training session with EMS students from UMass Amherst.
鈥淣ow that I鈥檓 one of the senior EMTs, I have the unique opportunity to help shape the future of the program by training our new EMTs,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 would never be where I am right now, or have the friends that I do, if it wasn鈥檛 for EMS.鈥�
Jubb is considering work as a project manager in the health care or aviation industries, although he鈥檇 prefer to keep his flying hobby as just that: a hobby.
鈥淚鈥檓 up in the air with that, so to speak,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 just know that flying will be a part of what I do, one way or another, even if it鈥檚 a side job teaching my friends how to fly.鈥�
Jubb鈥檚 advice to new River Hawks just starting their college journeys? Take a flier and try something new.
鈥淕et out there and talk to people. Join clubs and do something you never thought you鈥檇 be doing. You never know what opportunity it might bring you,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he experiences I鈥檝e had here have opened a lot of doors for me, and I can take them wherever I go.鈥�