Flying the friendly skies: Bri Zahn’s internships take flight

After classes ended for the Spring 2024 semester, Trulaske student Bri Zahn packed her bags and moved to Chicago for an internship at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. This summer, she serves as an Airport Operations intern in the Business Office for United Airlines and is eager to share her journey with other Trulaske students who might be interested in a career in the aviation industry. “This internship represents another significant step forward in my aviation career and I am incredibly excited for the experiences and opportunities it will bring,” she said.

Growing up, I was always fascinated by the airport. There was something thrilling about the feeling of being surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the aviation industry that I could not ignore and eventually indulged in as a university student. However, my path to realizing this dream was far from ordinary. I spent the first three years of college trying to find a career that fulfills me, and one day while traveling through O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, it hit me that I could be a part of a team that contributes to the excitement of the friendly skies.

While Mizzou does not offer aviation-specific programs, it does offer incredible resources that could be tailored to my aspirations. With limited formal education in aviation, I tapped into career services, workshops and networking events that helped me refine my resume, improve my interview skills and expand my professional connections while searching for an internship in the aviation field. I attended online aviation forums and actively engaged with professionals in the industry. Then finally, after 312 applications, nine interviews and one offer, I was able to begin my aviation journey with an internship in June 2023. Ultimately, my excitement made me stand out amidst the competition and one company took an interest in me, giving me the opportunity of a lifetime.

United Ground Express (UGE) is a subsidiary of United Airlines that is based in Chicago, providing a variety of ground handling services to other airlines. UGE was interested in bringing on two summer interns in 2023 to learn more about their operation and the aviation industry and I had the chance to be one of those interns. I was hired as a workforce planning and strategy intern and worked closely with the Resource Planning Team.

My primary line of work consisted of analyzing complex data sets and flight schedules to build efficient labor authorizations for operations that happen above the wing and below the wing. During my time as an intern, I took several opportunities to see how the data we analyzed performs in real time and visited a few airports, including those in Nashville, Greenville-Spartanburg and Chicago.

During these visits, I was able to see the operation with my own eyes and get close to the action. I had the opportunity to ride in the pushback, see how an aircraft is fueled and so much more. Upon completion of this internship, I dove right back into applying for further opportunities within aviation for summer 2024. After four months of applications and interviews, I was offered my dream internship with United Airlines as an airport operations intern at O’Hare International Airport.

Since I began my internship in late May, I’ve found myself immersed in the daily operations of Chicago's bustling airport. Each week brings new opportunities to shadow industry experts and explore the diverse facets of airport management. I’ve had opportunities to learn unique details about the operation, including aircraft maintenance, ground and air control, catering, corporate real estate, regional carriers and fleet management. Without a doubt, I can say that this experience has deepened my understanding of the aviation ecosystem and I cannot wait to see what other opportunities it will bring me.

With each experience, I'm getting closer to my dream career in aviation and I couldn't have done it without the support and direction from Mizzou and the Trulaske College of Business. My journey into aviation may not have been typical, but it has been filled with passion, perseverance and an unwavering commitment to contributing to an industry I love.