Traditions and Connections

According to Worldwide alum who responded to a recent survey, 95 percent of Worldwide students were in the workforce within one year of graduating and nearly 10 percent chose to continue their education.

Our network of more than 100,000 Embry-Riddle Worldwide alumni have gone on to have thriving careers in the aerospace, aviation, engineering, business and technology industries. Students benefit from our extensive network of alumni and corporate and professional affiliates.

Noteworthy Worldwide alumni who have achieved distinction in their field of work or military service include:

Cheryl Sterns (’85)
Cheryl Sterns (B.S. Aviation Administration '80; Master of Aeronautical Science, '85) is an American Skydiver and pilot who won the Bronze Medal in Women's Overall Individual Style and Accuracy at the XXV World Parachuting Championships in Japan in 2000. She has held a total of 30 world records in parachuting and is the Guinness World Record Holder for the most parachute jumps in a 24-hour period by a woman­­ - 352 jumps in November 1995.

Benjamin Alvin Drew (’95)
Benjamin Alvin Drew (Master of Aerospace Science) is a former United States Air Force officer and a NASA astronaut who served as a mission specialists for the Space Shuttle mission STS-118 to the International Space Station in 2007 and was part of the final mission for Space Shuttle Discovery in 2011.

Col. Ronald Garan (’95)
Col. Ronald Garan (Master of Aeronautical Science) is a former U.S. Airforce pilot and NASA astronaut who flew as a mission specialist of STS-124 in 2008 and returned to space again on April 4, 2011 for a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station as member of Expedition 27.

Terry Virts (’97)
Terry Virts (Master of Aeronautical Science) rose to the rank of colonel in the U.S. Airforce before being selected as a NASA astronaut for the NASA T-38 program, Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) and Expedition 9 Crew Support Astronaut.

Michael Durant (’95)
Michael Durant (Bachelor of Science in Professional Aeronautics and Master of Business in Aviation) is an American pilot who was held prisoner in Somalia while servicing the U.S. Army. He is the author of the book “In the Company of Heroes” and is the president and CEO of Pinnacle Solutions Inc., a veteran-owned aviation training company based in Huntsville, Ala.