Class Act: Terry Smith exceptionally qualified to lead AC Aviation Program
Like most kids in the West Texas towns he once called home – Paducah, Matador, Abernathy – Terry Smith was intrigued by various aircraft that passed overhead. What set him apart is that his curiosity about planes never waned.
Smith’s desire to fully fathom the upkeep and precision necessary to keep those flying machines aloft and humming optimally became a full-fledged passion and led him to launch a long and successful career in aviation maintenance technology.
“I looked up in the sky and watched airplanes like most young boys do, and I definitely became passionate about it,” said Smith, who since 2015 has been coordinator of the Amarillo College Aviation Program, and who now has close to 40 years of aviation industry experience under his belt.
Smith is exceptionally qualified to lead the AC Aviation Program. From the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) he holds the prestigious Inspection Authorization Certification, a testament to his expertise in aviation safety and regulatory compliance. And as a Designated Mechanic Examiner (DME) for the FAA – a status you do not apply for but are appointed to – he not only provides top-tier training for his students, but he also has the authority to evaluate and officially certify their skills and abilities.
“Because I’m a DME, our students, when they finish their courses and have to do their exams to get FAA certification in airframe and powerplant (engine), they come through me,” Smith said. “We essentially provide a one-stop shop for our students. You come to our school, you take your written exams, and then you do your oral and practical exams with me for FAA certification.
“I absolutely love that not only did I graduate from Amarillo College, but that I’ve had the opportunity to come back and pay it forward by teaching here.”
That’s right, Smith is himself a product of Amarillo College, but not via the chronology one might expect; he actually graduated in 1988 from Houston Community College (Lubbock campus) with a certification in aviation maintenance technologies. He then spent a couple decades honing his craft and taking on greater responsibilities with outfits like Lockheed Martin, Caprock Aviation and Bell Helicopter Textron, which lured him from Lubbock to Amarillo.
Smith, who holds Textron Six-Sigma Black Belt and Green Belt certifications, briefly taught aviation classes at AC – in 2000-2001 – as he rose through the ranks at Bell. But in 2010, when he was serving as a quality operations manager for Bell’s V-22 Osprey program, Smith enrolled at AC to tackle the aerospace manufacturing program.
“One of the great things about the aviation industry is it offers 100 percent reimbursement for next-level higher education, as long as it’s related to the industry, all the way to a doctorate,” Smith said. “I encourage all our graduates to eventually take advantage of that because it can lead to opportunities in management. That’s why I went back to school at Amarillo College when I did.”
While still climbing the corporate ladder at Bell, Smith’s next academic achievement was a bachelor’s degree in aviation maintenance technologies he earned through Wayland Baptist University. His job title was engineering liaison manager when he finally retired after 16 years at Bell. Soon thereafter, he received a call from AC.
“I’d retired and, lo and behold, Amarillo College notified me about a position that was available in the Aviation Maintenance Program, which was amazing because I always wanted to pay it forward,” Smith said. “One of our goals (at AC) is to make sure our graduates are in demand, to have industry contacting us wanting to know when our next class will be graduating, and that’s just what they do.”
Smith says AC’s programmatic priorities revolve around producing exactly the sort of graduates the industry seeks in entry-level mechanics: knowledgeable, safety-minded men and women with integrity and good critical-thinking skills. “So that’s what we focus on,” he said, “and in the last five or six years, most of the mechanics we’ve put out there are supervisors or managers now, so that says a lot for our school.
“When I get that phone call three or four years down the road from former students who say they really appreciate everything the College has done for them, and when they talk about how we helped them get to a supervisory or management position that’s changed their lives, that’s something I really, really like about teaching at Amarillo College.”
Smith says Amarillo College, which in 2023 won the Aspen Prize as the top community college in the nation, did so for good reason, and he was pleased to play a part in the achievement.
“The faculty at Amarillo College are second to none and the Aspen Prize proves that,” Smith said. “We’re the number one community college in the United States and it’s an absolutely phenomenal experience to have been here and gone through the process of getting to be number one. And if anyone came here and spent a little time they’d know why we’re number one.”
Smith and his wife of 40 years raised two kids and have three grandkids. Among their favorite family pastimes is taking an RV up into the mountains of Colorado to do a bit of camping. Of course, Smith is always happy to find his way back home.
“There’s no better culture than the Panhandle of Texas,” he says. “The sunsets are a lot prettier here, too, and you can watch your dog run away for 10 days.”