Hello, Faculty of Arts!

Hello, Faculty of Arts,  

My name is Michael Sartor, a Seneca College FPR (Aviation Technology) alumni, Class of 2022. My story started as a young boy, mesmerized, and inspired by the aircraft flying over my parents' house. My parents would drive around Toronto Pearson International Airport so I could see the different aircraft take-off and land. My parents later gifted me an introductory flight, where I could fly a small airplane for 30 minutes with an instructor. From that moment on, aviation was in my blood. 

Fast forward several years, after a discussion with my guidance counsellor in high school, I joined the Seneca College Dual Credit – Aeronautics program, taught by my now friend and mentor, Michael Rotondo. The program was engaging, exciting, and everything I could have imagined for a course I could take in high school. The program ultimately changed my mind from completing flight training at a local flight school to completing an Honours Bachelor's degree and flight training at Seneca College. The more I learned about the FPR program, the more excited I was to join – the modern fleet of G1000 aircraft, outstanding maintenance team, skilled instructors both for academics and flight training, the new facility at Peterborough Airport, and last but certainly not least, the school's connection with Canadian airlines through their cadet programs.  

A career as an Airline Pilot was always my goal. It is what pushed and motivated me through the FPR program. Four years after participating in the Dual Credit program, I graduated from Seneca College with an Integrated Airline Transport Pilot License and an Honours Bachelor degree in Aviation Technology. This is something young Michael could never have imagined.   

While still in the final weeks of my degree, I was applying to the Sunwing Airlines cadet program to work as a First Officer, flying the Boeing 737-800/8. To my surprise, I was one of 3 students to secure a position flying for Sunwing Airlines. Going from a 6-seater, piston-engine Beechcraft Baron, for multi-engine and instrument training, to a 189-seat turbofan jet is an experience like no other. I am honoured and proud to fly for Sunwing and share their values.   

The story does not end there. After finishing my initial training with Sunwing, I got a call offering a position to teach the exact course I once took that introduced me to aviation. To be a professor teaching Aeronautics to Dual Credit students – what an experience.   

Aviation has provided so much to me, and I have so many colleagues, friends, and mentors who have helped me along the (often turbulent) journey. It, therefore, feels fantastic to give back and introduce Aviation to the next generation of Pilots, Aerospace Engineers, Air Traffic Controllers, Aircraft Maintenance Engineers, and the like.   

From a Dual Credit student, young and eager, to a Seneca Alumni, First Officer, and Dual Credit Professor, Seneca College has provided so many opportunities for which I will be forever grateful. I look forward to continuing teaching my students, and I hope I can ignite a spark (like a magneto – get the aviation pun?)  in them to pursue a career they enjoy and motivate them to work hard, think critically, and achieve their ultimate success, just as Mr. Rotondo pushed me to achieve.