Jessica Renz is being recognized with the 2021 AMT NextGen 40 under 40 Award for her work as a Tech Ops Compliance Specialist. We sat down with Jessica to learn more about her career path at Endeavor.

EDV: What does it mean to win AMT Magazine’s 40 Under 40 Maintenance Professional Award?

JR: It caught me completely by surprise. Knowing the backgrounds of previous 40 Under 40 winners, I have a hard time processing that I’m receiving this award. There are so many other talented aviation maintenance professionals out there, doing the behind-the-scenes work our lives depend on, who absolutely should have this award. That said, I’m honored to have received this award among a vast pool of incredible, deserving candidates.

EDV: How long have you been at Endeavor? What roles/positions have you worked in?

JR: I’ve worked at Endeavor for 13 years. I was an Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) for eight years and Lead AMT for three years. In that time, I served as Endeavor’s Detroit Tech Ops Safety Committee Vice Chair for six years and as Endeavor’s Tech Ops ASAP Event Review Committee (ERC) Employee Representative for five months, before transitioning to my current role as Tech Ops Compliance Specialist in 2019.

EDV: What made you interested in working in aviation?

JR: I grew up close to Detroit Metro Airport, which gave me a love of aviation at an early age. I initially wanted to be a pilot but didn’t have the means to attend college or flight school. When my high school offered dual-enrollment with the Michigan Institute of Aeronautics (later named the “Michigan Institute of Aviation & Technology”) at Willow Run Airport, to pursue an Airframe & Powerplant certificate, I jumped at the opportunity and never looked back. I graduated high school in 2005 and graduated from MIAT a year later.

EDV: Who has been your role model throughout your AMT career?

JR: My dad has been a great role model to me throughout my career. I learned from him at an early age the value of hard work and tenacity. He raised three girls as a single father while working a factory job at Ford Motor Company’s
Rouge plant. Over time, his strong work ethic earned him several promotions, and he’s now working at Ford’s World Headquarters in Dearborn. He’s someone I can always lean on both for personal and professional guidance.

EDV: What lesson(s) have you learned as an AMT?

JR: A few important lessons I’ve learned as an AMT are to always speak up when something isn’t right, never be too proud to ask a question, and buy your own tool if you have to borrow it more than once.

EDV: What do you love about working for Endeavor?

JR: What I love about Endeavor is the family-like atmosphere—that our peers are an extension of our family and care for us beyond the task at hand. That’s not easy to establish or find in a company.

EDV: What are you looking forward to the most in the next coming year?

JR: I’m looking forward to graduating Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, with a B.S. in Aviation Maintenance Safety!

EDV: Where do you hope to travel to next?

JR: My #1 bucket list destination is Japan.

Click here to read Jessica’s feature in the Aviation Pro article.