Looking back, Luke Schiada ‘98, can pinpoint the exact moment he started chasing his dreams. As a young boy, fascinated with airplanes and aviation, Schiada wanted to be an astronaut. Instead, he used that passion to pursue a B.S. in Aviation Administration and an associate degree in Aerospace Technology at Farmingdale State College (FSC). It was there, as a student in Professor Louis Scala’s Government in Aviation class, after hearing a director at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) speak, Schiada knew what his future held. Understanding the significance of the moment, he seized it, and walked their guest back to his car and took the first step to securing a life-changing internship.
Now a supervisory aviation accident investigator for the Eastern Region of the NTSB, Schiada recognizes how pivotal that experience, and his Farmingdale education, was. “Those relationships that you form with people, the way you interact—you can’t minimize those interactions and the importance they have leading to opportunities,” he said.
Someone can have all the technical knowledge and experience in the world, but if they can’t effectively communicate with people, they might not get the chance to show it, Schiada added. "Even in my work, very few times the immediate decisions made at accident sites are technical," he said. "It’s the interactions with people that are in real time, where you need to be able to effectively, adequately, and compassionately work with people—those are skills that are developed and learned throughout your life."
Hearing NTSB Regional Director Dennis Jones speak in Professor Scala’s class in 1997 was certainly the most consequential moment of his time at FSC, according to Schiada. "Before that, I was familiar with the NTSB, but I became fascinated by its work and how the investigators methodically figured out why accidents occurred with the goal of preventing them in the future," he continued. "You could argue that the presentation led to my career in aviation, more specifically, with the NTSB itself...leading to an incredibly rewarding career."
The aviation program at FSC was a huge draw for Schiada, who wanted to pursue the piloting operations side and continue to learn about aviation. But the chance to be a part of a community on FSC's scenic campus was an attraction as well. "I loved the prospect of living there," Schiada said. "Until then, I had lived at home with my parents in Brooklyn, so the thought of being part of the FSC community—being on campus and continuing to learn about aviation—that was a real draw. Farmingdale was only 50 miles from my home, but it was really a world away. It couldn’t have been more different than the environment I had spent my whole life in."'
FSC also helped shape Schiada's personal development and become more self-reliant. "My parents were 'old school,' so the idea of being independent and growing without the shadow of my parents, that happened at Farmingdale. So much of my growth, personally and professionally—I owe that to FSC."