TRAVERSE CITY — Reed Hudson, a Traverse City native and senior at Western Michigan University, has been named the 2025 Aviation Student of the Year.
The Michigan Association of Airport Executives presented the award to Hudson, who grew up in Northern Michigan surrounded by the aviation community. Hudson credited his interest in the field to his father’s career in the U.S. Coast Guard. “My whole life growing up, I was surrounded by helicopters and at airports and watching him fly and watch and be, like a role model in the sky,” Hudson said.
Hudson initially planned to study flight science to become a pilot, but his career path shifted during high school. After completing an internship at Cherry Capital Airport, he decided to focus on the operational side of the industry. Hudson said his father, who worked with the airport through the Coast Guard, helped facilitate the transition by arranging a meeting with staff. “My dad worked with them, for the Coast Guard and he set up a meeting and we got to, kind of talk through what their jobs were, what their roles were in operations and their passion and their love for that kind of sparked something in me,” Hudson said.
The 2025 Aviation Student of the Year award was presented during a Michigan Association of Airport Executives conference. Hudson, who had spoken at the same conference the previous year, said he was surprised by the honor, especially when his parents arrived at the event unexpectedly. Hudson recalled the moment his father gave him a hint that an award was coming. “My dad had we were like, they’re about to start the awards. He turned and like, winked at me and like, there were like, hints and like, maybe something going on, but I was more focused,” Hudson said. “I was kind of telling my mom after, like, there’s like, work mode and there’s family mode and I was like, tearing the two way switch in between and I was all thrown off. So, it was a real shock when I, when I had gotten the award.”
Following his graduation from Western Michigan University, Hudson will return to Traverse City to begin a professional career at the same airport where he interned. He has accepted a position as an operations supervisor, which involves managing the facility’s infrastructure and a specialized maintenance staff.
Hudson described the seasonal demands of the role, noting that summer months are dedicated to large-scale airfield projects. “During the summer, you’re responsible for making sure the airfields painted and you’re working on painting, which takes, like, the whole summer and then you’re working on mowing the airfield,” Hudson said. He noted that he will also be responsible for a team of maintainers who handle mowing, painting and terminal repairs.
Hudson will begin his role as an operations supervisor at Cherry Capital Airport in May, starting the day after his 21st birthday.