As a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Airlines Group, Piedmont Airlines operates nearly 400 daily departures to 55+ cities throughout the eastern United States, from Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Headquartered in Salisbury, Maryland, the airline employs more than 10,000 aviation professionals, offering full-time, part-time, and internship opportunities. UNC Charlotte Senior Data Science major Aavanth Ezhilan, who is from Mooresville, completed an internship with Piedmont centered on DEI this academic year.
“While working at Piedmont, I developed a deeper understanding of diversity and equity in the workplace. I now know how beneficial it is to work in an inclusive workplace that embraces people from all walks of life,” says Aavanth.
He says that the team at Piedmont were very welcoming of his ideas and implemented the PowerBI dashboards he created to analyze the company’s inclusion and diversity data, enabling leadership to make data-driven decisions.
Matthew French, the airline’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager says, “Aavanth demonstrated the desire to learn, think outside the box, and made a favorable impression on everyone he met at Piedmont. That’s how he stood out…by being himself and getting to know others, while doing great work.” Aavanth has accepted a full-time role with Piedmont as a Safety Data Analyst, which he will begin following his graduation from UNC Charlotte in May.
