Marvin Smith grew up in the Mississippi Delta, where the only airplanes he saw appeared overhead or on TV. He never dreamed that, one day, he’d be an air traffic controller. He didn’t know any pilots and knew zilch about aviation.
For the past 12 years, he has manned the tower at the DeKalb Peachtree Airport, his third career stop in 21 years. It’s doubtful he sleeps on the job.
“I love what I do,” he told me, “and I never thought in a million years I’d be doing what I’m doing. It’s a million miles away from where I came from.”
He was a student at Alcorn State University, in Lorman, Miss., when the recruiters came a knockin’. Air traffic controllers were in short supply; President Ronald Reagan fired more than 11,000 of them for going on strike in 1981, and they were barred from returning to their jobs.
One person’s loss can be another person’s gain. Federal government recruiters fanned out to minority college campuses such as Alcorn’s to recruit and build interest in aviation.
“I had no experience in airplanes,” Smith told me, “and didn’t even know what an air traffic controller was.”
He expressed no interest in learning, either, until a frat brother suggested he take the aptitude test that was being administered. He flunked the first time, studied up for the second, and earned a passing mark.
He was hired by the Federal Aviation Administration and sent for training at its academy in Oklahoma City. That launched a career. Smith has manned towers at Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport and at a facility in Memphis. He accepted a position at the Chamblee airport to be closer to his parents.
Online, I read that the majority of air traffic controllers on the job today will be eligible for retirement in the next 10 years. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics says that, with retirement and an increase in traffic flow, demand will grow for tower lifeguards to keep travelers safe.
It’s the kind of information a certified professional controller who grew up in Greenwood, Miss., tries to bestow on the minds of young people — blacks in particular — when given the chance. He talks to elementary, middle and high schoolers about aviation and its possibilities as a profession more practical than rapping or pro sports.
“Most of them don’t know what aviation is, and think you can only work for someplace like Delta,” Smith told me. “If they tell me they want to be an auto mechanic, I ask them why not consider being an airplane mechanic. Same thing if they say they want to be a painter. Why not paint planes?”
Smith has the encouragement of Marvin Dixon, a criminal investigator recently featured in this space, who talks to young people about law enforcement. The men work out in the same gym and share a similar philosophy when it comes to young people.
They want them all to dream big.
Rick Badie, an Opinion columnist, is based in Gwinnett. Reach him at rbadie@ajc.com or 770-263-3875.
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