MLB Internship – The Beginning of an Incredible Journey

As stated in my previous blog, I have recently been hired for the brand-new internship with the Melbourne Airport Authority at the Melbourne International Airport, home to F.I.T. Aviation and the Florida Tech community, as well as many successful companies and entities. I started this March, right after my Spring Break, and it has been a wild ride from the start. This opportunity was given to me for the next year, until March 2016, and I will be sharing all of my experiences along the way.

Don’t test the waters, just jump!       

On my first day, I walked in not know entirely what to expect. Would I get a tour of the airport? Would it be an orientation day of learning about the internship? Everything that I thought to expect was demolished within the first 20 minutes on the job. Initially, I was escorted around and introduced to everyone in the office – quite a lot of names to remember in minutes!

At the end of the Melbourne Airport Authority office, I was shown my office that was all ready and set up for me to become a part of this exciting team. I was introduced to my mentor, Jack Schluckebier, who is the Director of Land Development for the Authority. Initially, we talked for a bit about one another and about what I wanted to get out of the internship. It wasn’t long after that when we jumped right into the job, and I was given an assignment within the first hour on the job and off to work.

As the Director of Land Development, Jack Schluckebier is in charge of the current status and development of airport property. One of the most important responsibilities is to bring in more money to the airport by setting up agreements and leases to develop the available land parcels on the airport property. Currently, there is an information available parcels webpage on the MLB website, but there is room for improvement. The webpage only has contact information and a link to the airport’s Future Land Use map.

Time to put my experience to the test.

After working with the marketing department at Florida Tech for three years and having taken many airport development classes, I knew this was my time to show the real-world what I can do. Since then, I have been working on ways to improve the website, make it easier for the general public to read, and supply supplemental information and materials that will help lease the available parcels. The current map available to the public, the Future Land Use map, is in aviation language and might not necessarily be easily understood by someone who works for one of our clients like Harris, Northrop Grumman or Rockwell Collins. After some research, I have proposed to develop an interactive map with drop-pins of information that will give current and future clients’ information and downloadable brochures on the occupied and vacant land parcels at the airport.

This project is already off to a great start, and I will keep my blog updated with its progress and eventually a final product!