Polk State College Aerospace Alumni

06/04/2026

Welcome, President Kamoutsas!

The Polk State College District Board of Trustees named Anastasios “Stasi” Kamoutsas as the institution’s sixth president on Wednesday with a 5-0 vote. Kamoutsas, currently Florida’s Commissioner of Education, will join Polk State on July…

05/08/2026

Congratulations to David Smith (’21) on joining American Airlines as a First Officer flying the Airbus A320 series at just 24 years old! He is projected to eventually reach No. 2 on the seniority list at American – a list which currently includes more than 16,000 pilots.

David previously was a Captain & First Officer for Republic Airways, flying the Embraer 175 since 2022. He also flew the Pilatus PC-12 for PlaneSense as a corporate pilot. Additionally, he was a contract corporate pilot flying Citation jets & a flight instructor for Polk State College - Aerospace & Globe Aero.

He earned an A.S. in Professional Pilot Science from Polk State College & a B.A. in Political Science from the University of South Florida.

David will be based in Los Angeles (LAX) initially before transitioning to Miami (MIA). He joins fellow Polk State Aerospace alumni Chad Albury (’21), Ying Liu (’22), Kevan Nanton (’14) & Jacob Wingate (’21) flying mainline for American Airlines.

We couldn’t be prouder of your continued success!

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05/05/2026

04/30/2026

Welcome all Spring 2026 graduates to our alumni base! We’re proud of you & a resource to each of you. Enjoy celebrating a major accomplishment! 🎓

With big flight dreams, Polk State College Aerospace student Marissa Vereb has already spent a lot of time in the air – but not just in airplanes. She was the youngest pilot to participate in…

02/12/2026

02/04/2026

Sarah Giaccio (’18, ’19) recently was elevated to Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Government Affairs at Delta Air Lines in Washington, D.C. She supports her and other leaders through administrative work and event engagement.

Previously, Sarah worked as a lead in the Delta Sky Club & in reservations as a mentor. She also served on their Employee Engagement Committee in Tampa, Florida.

Sarah earned her bachelor’s & associate degrees from Polk State College in Aerospace Sciences & Aerospace Administration. She made a significant impact on our program as the Operations Director & Lead Flight Scheduler, working in conjunction with Polk State College - Aerospace.

Her husband, Christian Giaccio (’21), is a Captain for PSA Airlines. He has flown with PSA since 2022 & was an accomplished flight instructor for Polk State Aerospace beforehand.

The Giaccios reside in D.C. with their son & daughter.

Congratulations on your promotion, Sarah!

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01/28/2026

Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Kyle Davis, Director of Commercial Vehicle Sales for Kelley Automotive Group, to the Polk State College District Board of Trustees on January 13, 2026. He will serve alongside Chair Ann Barnhart,…

01/26/2026

Stella Nawyn graduated high school with an impressive resume and no shortage of options as an aviation enthusiast from South Florida. When choosing her next school, however, it was Polk State College’s Aerospace Program that…

01/13/2026

Congratulations to Adrian Quichocho (’22) on upgrading to Captain with Frontier Airlines! Adrian flies the Airbus A320/321 & is based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He joined Frontier as a First Officer in 2023.

Adrian earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Sciences – Professional Pilot Science from Polk State College & was also a flight instructor for Polk State College - Aerospace & International Aero Academy at Lakeland International Airport.

He was also elected Secretary of the Polk State Flight Team. In National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) competition, Adrian placed 4th in Preflight Inspection & 8th in the Power-Off 180 landing competition at the 2021 NIFA Regionals against some of the toughest flight team opposition in the country, helping our program reach nationals for the first time in school history.

Originally, from Chalan Pago, Guam 🇬🇺, Adrian is a member of the United States Air Force Reserves.

"Captain Q" has a pretty good ring to it! We couldn’t be prouder of you, Adrian, & we thank you for all your contributions over the years to Polk State Aerospace.

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12/16/2025

Congratulations to James Chamberland ('25) & Marlene Nolasco ('25) on their recent graduations with Bachelor's degrees in Aerospace Sciences!

We love seeing our alumni thriving in operations at our home field, Lakeland International Airport. Both James & Marlene are Airport Operations Specialists at KLAL.

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