President- Justin Jacobs
Justin is a sophomore studying Commercial Real Estate. He got his private pilot’s license at the age of 17 at the Peachtree Dekalb Airport. He attributes his love of flying to his grandfather and is super eager to have a great year as president!
Vice President- Susannah Hicks
Susannah Hicks is the Co-Vice President of the UGA Aviation Club along with Drew Fiscus! She grew up learning about the aviation world from her dad, but she really formed a love for herself when she joined the club her freshman year! Now, as a junior, she is working towards getting her Private Pilot license as well as working as a Co-op with Delta Air Lines’ Flight Safety team!
Vice President- Drew Fiscus
Drew Fiscus is the Co-Vice President of the UGA Aviation Club along with Susannah Hicks. Drew is a fourth year mechanical engineering student, and his interest in aviation started before he can remember when his dad would take him and his brother out to PDK to watch planes. Coming to the aviation club freshman year he saw all of the opportunities in aviation, was awarded the first club scholarship in spring 2021, and officially became a private pilot in March 2022. Now he is preparing to start his instrument rating training, and after completing that he plans to continue to obtain ratings as far as his life and career allows him. No matter what happens Drew knows he will continue to fly and share his passion with friends and family!
Vice President of Finance- Arnav Parikh
My name is Arnav Parikh. I am a third-year majoring in finance and international business. I got into aviation because I always loved traveling since I was young. I started flying at 17, soloed at 18, and have over 60 hours logged towards my private pilot’s license. I put my training on pause to focus on college, but plan on getting my license soon. In the future, I would like to get my instrument and commercial rating, and perhaps even my ATP.
Vice President of Public Relations- Lillie Jones
Lillie Jones is a fourth-year majoring in Marketing from Milton, GA. She got into aviation because her dad is a pilot at Delta and her sister is also a pilot. She currently is working on her private pilots license at Dragonfly Aviation and she hopes to pursue aviation after graduation with the ultimate goal of becoming an airline pilot.
Flight Coordinator- Ryan Diaz
Ryan Diaz is a third year mechanical engineering student from Bishop GA. He’s majoring in mechanical engineering but has always had a passion for aviation from a young age and is currently working on his private pilot license from Dragonfly Aviation. Ryan Diaz joined the club in spring 2022 and was awarded as one of the recipient for the uga aviation club scholarship. He currently is doing a Co-Op at Gulfstream Aerospace and is focused on creating the finest aviation experience!
Vice President of Recruitment- Jaclyn Griffin
Jaclyn Griffin is a second year Public Relations major and the VP of Recruitment. Although she does not have her Private Pilots License yet, she has plans to get it within the upcoming years. Aviation has always been a big part of her life, ever since she would run outside to catch her town’s air show from her front yard as a kid. She is very excited to share her love for aviation with everyone this year, and can’t wait to see what’s to come!
Club Advisor- Dr. John Knox
John is a twentieth-year from Birmingham Alabama, professing Geography and Atmospheric Sciences at UGA during that time. He serves as the faculty advisor of the club, which he’s done since 2009. Mostly this means signing off on some paperwork, attending as many meetings as he can, supporting the officers in their work, and making connections that come from being in Athens and in aviation meteorology for a couple of decades. John is neither an aviation meteorologist per se nor a pilot; he got into the subject of clear-air turbulence forecasting because of a random question from a stranger at a scientific conference during his Ph.D. research in the mid-1990s. Since then he’s helped develop a couple of new CAT forecasting methods, and even won the T. Theodore Fujita Research Achievement Award from the National Weather Association in 2010 for this work. John loves assisting students in extracurricular groups and hopes to stay on as advisor for as long as he’s a help and there aren’t better options for the club. He also teaches a class on Aviation Weather Hazards periodically at UGA; how often depends on student interest and time in his schedule, so let John know (johnknox@uga.edu) if you’re interested!
