Alumni soar to success as CEO, directors of aircraft maintenance company

Liberty University School of Aeronautics graduate Ryan Shepherd (’15, ’17) was born to fly, though his professional focus is currently fixed on assuring that airplanes remain flightworthy.

Shepherd, who earned his Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) certificate from Liberty in 2015 and his B.S. in Aviation Maintenance Management online while working as an aircraft mechanic in 2017, is the CEO of Victory Lane Aviation, based in Concord, N.C.

As a missionary kid who grew up in Greece while his parents worked for Send Relief, Shepherd regularly traveled across the Atlantic.

“I fell in love with aviation when I was 6 years old living in Canada,” Shepherd said, noting that he would spend hours watching planes take off from Pearson International Airport in Toronto, always eager to learn more about the aviation industry. “We had an aircraft encyclopedia at home, and I didn’t even like reading, but I loved studying about all types of planes. I was always fascinated by it. Some kids want to be firefighters. Since I was a kid and saw my first plane, I knew it was something I wanted to be involved with.”

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