Ep. 341 Professor, Pilot, Pathfinder: How Marla Faison Lifts Future Aviators at ECSU
Ready 4 Pushback
Nik Fialka
5.0 • 797 Ratings
🗓️ 20 April 2026
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Professor Marla Faison of Elizabeth City State University joins Nik to share her unconventional path through aviation, motherhood, entrepreneurship, and ultimately leading one of the most affordable university flight programs in the country. She explains why ECSU's Part 141 program is such a powerful "zero to CFI" option—often under $50K—and how students benefit from tight-knit faculty support, airline partnerships, and a strong campus community.
Marla and Nik also dive into the realities of the aviation job market, including dynamic hiring cycles and the challenges of landing that first breakthrough aviation job, as well as why having a degree and a Plan B truly matters. They unpack a powerful LinkedIn success story that turned a simple class assignment into a viral post, life-changing networking opportunities, and even a job offer. If you're looking for one of the nation's most affordable paths to becoming a CFI, look no further than ECSU.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, pilot. Welcome to Ready for Pushback. Thanks for joining me today because my guest is Professor Marla Faison, who is a professor at Elizabeth City State University out in eastern North Carolina. If you have never heard of Elizabeth City State University, you should go check it out. They have an amazing aviation program. It's super duper affordable. And it just gives great opportunity. She's an amazing professor. You know when you have, you know, like when you go through school and you're like, that's my favorite professor. Like Marla is the favorite professor. |
| 0:40.5 | She is so fun and so cool and does all the things and really gets her students involved. |
| 0:48.1 | I, she was my favorite professor when I met her. |
| 0:51.3 | And the story is really great. |
| 0:53.1 | It is very, very fun to have her on because of how we met. |
| 0:58.5 | And I'm not going to tell you about it and let you listen to it. And that's that. Okay. So sit back, |
| 1:05.4 | relax. Let's get ready for pushback. It all started as a spark. |
| 1:11.6 | Maybe it was the sound of jets racing across the sky. |
| 1:16.6 | Or the feeling of your heart racing as you watch CropDuster flying low and slow. |
| 1:22.6 | Even then, you knew you were meant to fly. |
| 1:26.6 | For pilots, it's more than just a job. |
| 1:28.3 | It's a calling. |
| 1:30.3 | The early mornings, the long hours, the relentless training. |
| 1:34.3 | You didn't do it for the money. |
| 1:36.3 | You did it for that moment. |
| 1:38.3 | That moment when the wheels lift off and the earth falls away beneath you. |
| 1:43.3 | But flying is just the beginning. |
| 1:45.0 | The journey to your dream job takes more than just skill in the sky. |
| 1:49.0 | It takes strategy on the ground and a lifetime of learning. |
| 1:53.0 | Most pilots don't understand what career opportunities are available in the world of aviation. |
| 2:00.0 | Learn how to go from good to great, from flight school to regional to major, and from hopeful to hired. |
| 2:07.6 | Whether you're sharpening your skills, building your resume, or preparing for that big interview, |
... |
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