In high school, Melissa Markell felt disengaged, uninterested, and struggled with poor grades, but she says her time at PIA was the exact opposite: “I’m a visual learner, and I need to be able to ask questions and find out exactly why something works the way it does. At PIA, I made the Dean’s List every semester because I loved coming to class and I was so engaged.”

After graduation, Markell began working in line maintenance but quickly earned a series of promotions. Today she is the Assistant Chief Inspector in the Quality department at Constant Aviation’s Cuyahoga County base, where she oversees quality assurance checks, inspections, audits, and manages her department’s workflow.

“I love the constant change, and I also love the feeling of being needed,” says Markell, who steps in to help whenever the mechanics’ workload gets too high. “It’s a thrill every day because I never know what new challenge I’m going to encounter. Every morning I can’t wait to unravel the next puzzle!”