Scott O’Dell, an aviation maintenance teacher at the Northwest Education Services (North Ed) Career-Tech Center (CTC) in Traverse City, was recently named “New Teacher of the Year” by the Michigan Association for Career and Technical Education (MI ACTE). O'Dell was honored at the statewide MI Career Education Conference in Grand Rapids, held last Tuesday, January 27.

According to a North Ed press release, O’Dell only joined the faculty at the CTC about two and a half years ago. He came to the academy from a career in the aviation industry, where he started as a janitor for Kalitta Air, worked his way up to a certified mechanic role, and then rose through the ranks with job titles including lead technician, foreman, acting project manager, and instructor. It was in training new employees at Kalitta Air that O’Dell “discovered a passion for teaching,” which ultimately led to him becoming the first-ever instructor for the CTC’s aviation maintenance program, launched in 2023.

Per the North Ed release, students in the aviation maintenance program “learn about the physics of flight, aircraft flight controls and landing gear, troubleshooting and repairing hydraulic systems, airframe structure inspections, and sheet metal fabrication.” The program is designed to prepare students for aviation industry jobs in maintenance, inspection, and assembly. You can read more about the CTC program in this Ticker story from 2023.

“Scott is a natural teacher, and he connects with students in a special way that keeps them engaged and focused on learning,” said Pat Lamb, assistant superintendent of career and technical education for North Ed. “His real-world experience has been an incredibly valuable asset for our students. Many will ask him questions about a problem in the aviation field, and he can answer them with firsthand experiences. That level of expertise makes a huge difference and allows him to show students how the theories they learn in the classroom apply to real-world situations.”

O’Dell’s award from MI ACTE advances him to a broader regional ACTE contest, where he’ll compete against top new career and technical educators from Washington D.C., Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia. The winner of that event will advance even further, a national ACTE contest.

“I am honored to be recognized among an incredible group of colleagues and CTE professionals around the state,” O’Dell said. “It is truly a privilege to teach students and play a part in building the next generation of aviation mechanics.”