Local students from Shanghai Civil Aviation College and other nearby schools have been invited to learn more about business aviation on Thursday at the ABACE Careers in Business Aviation program from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

While senior ABACE leaders will be on hand to introduce the assembled students to various aspects of business aviation, one of the more compelling presentations will likely be from Hong Kong-based Rachel Lo, who is volunteering as an intern with Asia Jet CEO and AsBAA board of governor Mike Walsh.

“Rachel approached me directly over LinkedIn just last week, and I have to admit she showed a deep passion for aviation and determination from the very first message in her mission to get to ABACE 2016,” said Walsh. “She had studied our business aviation sector for some months though news outlets and online searches in her own time and ultimately is seeking a job/internship to fund finishing her private pilot license and support her mum, having recently lost her father in an accident. A recent graduate from University of Toronto, she moved back to Hong Kong at the start of the year. She is tri-lingual with Cantonese, Mandarin and English.”

Walsh met with Lo to learn more about her interest in business aviation, and then she volunteered to help prepare Asia Jet’s marketing materials for the company’s ABACE exhibit. She also studied the ABACE schedule of events.

“Her ultimate goal,” he continued, “was to get to ABACE 2016 and get involved. When I informed her she could come, but had to work extremely hard, she literally cried with joy. It would be lovely to be able to bottle that up and have more just like her coming into our industry with an equal level of enthusiasm and passion.”

Walsh hopes many of the students attending the Careers in Business Aviation program will be inspired by Lo’s enthusiasm and passion, and that a new group of young future business aviation leaders will begin preparing for future careers in this industry.