8/21/2013 Susan Mumm
Written by Susan Mumm
When students come to chat with Laura Gerhold, Aerospace Engineering at Illinois Undergraduate Coordinator, about courses and professors and the day-to-day necessities for getting their degrees, they learn they have a key common interest with her: a love of flying.
Gerhold, who’s been working for AE since March 2012, has a pilot’s license and was even a flight instructor at the university’s Institute of Aviation at Willard Airport in Champaign, Illinois.
“My passion for aerospace began when I was 8 and attended NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama,” Gerhold said. “I then attended the Future Astronaut Training Program in Hutchinson, Kansas, when I was in high school. There my interest in flying started after I got a few rounds in the flight simulator. The summer before my senior year in high school I received a scholarship from the Decatur (Illinois) EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) Chapter that paid for my private pilot flight training. The instant the plane left the ground on my first training flight I knew I wanted to study aviation in college.”
While working on a degree in Natural Resources & Environment from the Urbana campus (BS 2007), Gerhold continued training at the Institute of Aviation, earning her Commercial, Instrument, Certified Flight Instructor and Flight Instructor Instrument ratings. She now flies mostly Cessna 172s and Piper Archers.
While earning her degree, Gerhold returned to Hutchinson, Kansas, for a time to work as a counselor and later a director for the Future Astronaut Training Program and the Aviation Camp Experience before joining the Institute of Aviation and, later, the AE Department.
“My love for both aviation and space led me to apply for the position in the Aerospace Engineering Department (at Illinois),” Gerhold said. “I can relate to students who share the same passion and interests as me.”
The student Engineering Council recognized the effort Gerhold puts forth in advising students by presenting her the Excellence in Advising Award this past spring. She also helps student organizations plan trips, general meeting and guest speakers. Furthermore, she coordinates class schedules and manages curriculum changes.
“I love working with the students,” she said. “I have been blown away with how innovative and creative the undergraduate students are. Their passion and drive are second to none.”
This year Gerhold plans to establish a monthly undergraduate seminar series focusing on resume and interview preparation, study abroad opportunities, internships and coops, and undergraduate research among topics. Plans are, at the end of each seminar, to feature an alumni Skype spotlight in which alumni talk about careers, answer questions and offer advice. Alumni interested in the program can contact Gerhold at gerhold