{"id":23266,"date":"2022-08-24T16:18:19","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T16:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=23266"},"modified":"2022-08-24T16:18:53","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T16:18:53","slug":"contemporary-women-in-aviation-margaret-covalt-p-e-vice-president-of-applied-pavement-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/national-news\/contemporary-women-in-aviation-margaret-covalt-p-e-vice-president-of-applied-pavement-technology\/%20","title":{"rendered":"Contemporary Women in Aviation – Margaret Covalt, P.E., Vice President of Applied Pavement Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo above –<\/em> Maggie Covalt has worked worldwide on significant projects. Pictured above, Maggie works with the Incheon International Airport staff. APTech was retained by the Incheon Airport Corporation to provide training on pavement evaluation, pavement maintenance and rehabilitation, pavement management, and the use of PAVER. It was a proactive move that allowed them to carefully monitor and preserve the pavement infrastructure \u2013 a very large capital investment. “It was the first time I had done this kind of work with an interpreter (the group I trained in Hong Kong were all fluent in English).”<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\nBy Penny Rafferty Hamilton, Ph.D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you first get inspired to work in the aviation industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Maggie Covalt<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

   \u201cMy involvement did not stem from any early exposure with planes, flying, or airports. Rather, I became hooked later, after I had received my B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois with a concentration in pavement engineering. After graduation, my first job was with the Corps of Engineers, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory-USA-CERL. I found my job fascinating as a Research Engineer on the PAVER pavement management software. Then, I discovered aviation.
   \u201cOne of my major responsibilities was to introduce PAVER to many of the alphabet groups, as NASAO, AAAE, AASHTO, NACE, ASCE, speaking at their national conferences about pavement management and demonstrating the software. My first presentations were to road-centric agencies. They went well. But then I had my first aviation exposure. It was to NASAO [National Association of State Aviation Officials] and was a \u2018Game Changer.\u2019 Everyone I met was so passionate about aviation, so passionate about doing the very best they could to support and promote the industry at whatever level they served in, that I couldn\u2019t help but be inspired. It was also a group who for the most part really was gender blind, something that sadly wasn\u2019t my experience in the 1980\u2019s with the road and highway agencies. I knew immediately that I would do everything I could to shape my future career so that I could work as closely with this inspirational (and fun!) group as I could,\u201d concluded Covalt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your first memory of aviation?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

   \u201cIn my youth I was not personally exposed to any type of aviation until age 17 when my first flights transported me to Australia where I lived for a year as an exchange student. However, during the Apollo years earlier, I remember being glued to our black and white TV watching our quest to land on the moon. I was particularly fascinated not by the astronauts but rather the engineers and others who were tackling what to me seemed like impossible hurdles to achieve the mission,\u201d explained Maggie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who has inspired you the most (any mentors you want to mention?)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

   \u201cI\u2019m grateful that my list of mentors is long, so I\u2019ll briefly highlight two special women, as well as a collective group. I know mentors are typically people older than yourself \u2013 but in the first two cases I was, and still am, inspired by them, even though we are about the same ages.
   \u201cThe first is Katie Zimmerman, P.E. Watching what she has achieved during her life \u2013 from obtaining B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois while being a single parent, to becoming President of a well-known pavement engineering company, to putting everything on the line to start our company, to being a very active member of her community and helping others at every turn, Katie has served as an inspiration for me both personally and professionally. For more than thirty years, she has shown me the importance of being honest, to consider the larger picture, to treat everyone with respect, to give back to your profession and your community, and to enjoy a full life outside of work,\u201d Covalt continued.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"

Maggie Covalt was presented the 2016 NASAO President\u2019s Award from then NASAO President, Greg Principato. The President\u2019s Award, one of NASAO’s highest honors, is presented to distinguished aviation professionals, state directors, staff, and NASAO Business Partners, who have made long-standing contributions to NASAO and to state aviation. Photo by Kim Stevens<\/em>) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

   \u201cSecond is Carol Comer, past Director of Multimodal Programs of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). I met Carol early in her GDOT career. I was a young engineer, managing the implementation of their first airport pavement management system. I watched Carol over the years take on increasingly responsible and complex positions within GDOT and become a consummate leader. Carol taught me to listen and to put in the effort to learn new skills to do a better job,\u201d Maggie explained.   
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThe third mentors are the professionals who make up NASAO. From my first exposure to the organization in 1985, various members throughout the organization have provided me with advice and support. When considering joining Katie and David Peshkin, P.E., the other founding principal, in forming Applied Pavement Technology (APTech) in 1995, NASAO participants were the ones who provided me with the final encouragement I needed to make that leap of faith. I am forever grateful to NASAO members who work so hard to support aviation at the state level, often with far too little pay or recognition. I can only hope to approach their level of dedication,\u201d Maggie ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advice for other women inside our industry or thinking about aviation and aerospace?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A visit to Colonial Williamsburg during the annual NASAO Conference in 1999. From left are Dick Spaeth, Maggie, Tom Schroeder, Gary Adams, Katie, and Steve McNeely.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

   \u201cI came upon a career focused on aviation by happenstance. I was lucky that in a way it found me. My advice is to not count on that being the case. Give serious thought to whatever work you are planning to pursue and be open to the possibility that you can excel in that work in the aviation environment. And while I said \u2018work\u2019 before, I really do hope that you don\u2019t set upon a path where what you do for such a large portion of your living hours is just work. Strive to nurture a career that satisfies you and brings you at least some joy every day. Embrace those you meet along the way, be open to new ideas that might take you out of your comfort zone, soak in the great experiences, try to put any bad experiences into perspective, and reach out to others for help and advice when needed. You\u2019ll find no more receptive and supportive audience than the aviation community,\u201d Maggie shared.   <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional Background?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

   Why Engineering? \u201cI was always good at math, physics, and science in general so engineering seemed a natural fit when thinking of a career. Originally my heart was in geology. I loved rocks and stratigraphy in all forms! My Dad encouraged me to broaden my view because I was not going into the coal or petroleum industries. We learned that the University of Illinois offered dual degrees at that time. So, I put in an extra year and obtained both my B.S. in Civil Engineering and my B.S. in Geology. I then was fortunate enough to receive full funding for obtaining my M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois,\u201d explained Covalt. \u201cAs for my P.E., I went the usual route at that time \u2013 took what was called the \u2018Engineer in Training (EIT)\u2019 right out of school. After completing the required years of practice, I sat for my Professional Engineering license. I obtained my first P.E. in Illinois, and subsequently a P.E. in 15 additional states.\u201d
   Today, women in aviation engineering are a growing presence, thanks to role models as Maggie Covalt. Read about the extensive mentoring programs of Applied Pavement Technology,  http:\/\/www.appliedpavement.com<\/a>.
   Oprah Winfrey famously said, \u201cA mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.\u201d Maggie Covalt is a prime example.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Hamilton is an award-winning aviation and women\u2019s history writer. Learn more at www.PennyHamilton.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo above – Maggie Covalt has worked worldwide on significant projects. Pictured above, Maggie works with the Incheon International Airport staff. APTech was retained by the Incheon Airport Corporation to provide training on pavement evaluation, pavement maintenance and rehabilitation, pavement management, and the use of PAVER. It was a proactive move that allowed them to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":23267,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maggie-with-Inchon-Trainees-edit.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23266"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23269,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23266\/revisions\/23269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}