In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re sharing a series of video interviews and other content from our Hispanic and Latino employees across the Envoy system.

In this feature, we hear from Captain Hernán Acevedo Rendón, who not only plays a vital role at Envoy as a Captain and Line Check Airman, but also has amassed a large following on social media where he posts motivational and aeronautical instruction videos for a Spanish-speaking audience.

Can you explain your career journey and how you became a pilot?

My career began as an aircraft mechanic, but I dreamed of being a pilot. As we all know, being a pilot is not easy and it can be expensive, so I decided to become a mechanic and then an instructor. From there, I was able to get my flight hours to become a commercial pilot.

Being a pilot in Colombia though, it was difficult finding a job, so I started looking for other options and found work both in Europe and Asia. Thanks to that, I finished my career as a pilot in the United States with Envoy.

What do you like most about your job?

What I like most about my job is that it’s not a job. While what we do every day in the flight deck is important, it’s also feels like fun, not work. It’s simply something I enjoy. It’s the complete package of what I like to do most in life.

What keeps you at Envoy?

I am very grateful to the first company that gave me the opportunity to start flying in the US. Apart from that, look where I am! I am already a Line Check Airman, and I believe that no other company is going to give me that opportunity as quickly as I have achieved it here.

Can you explain your YouTube channel and how it started?

My channel, Aero Hernán, is about aviation. It was born because when I started flying here in the US, a lot of people from Colombia and other countries asked me what it was like to fly here. So, I recorded short videos and uploaded them to YouTube. Since I like teaching, I started making more videos and now, on social media, I have a large following. I feel that with these videos I can teach and support many people.

What does diversity in the workplace mean to you?

Diversity is simply the acceptance of everyone. We are all different and we can all create a team regardless of all these names that society gives us.

Why do you think celebrating cultures is important?

Celebrating different cultures is very important. Fortunately, I have seen many cultures thanks to my work and have met many people from European and Asian cultures that have opened my mind to see how humanity is so different. Celebrating these differences makes us share more, understand each other more and be more tolerant of one another, regardless of whether we speak Spanish, English, Chinese or French. It doesn’t matter.

What is a piece of advice that you would give to someone trying to enter the aviation industry?

For all the people who have this dream is in their hearts, I know that it’s quite difficult, but don’t throw in the towel. If you have a dream, it doesn’t matter if it’s in aviation or not, you must fight for it, just stay centered and focused.

Personal photos speaking to Cadets provided by Captain Hernán Acevedo Rendón.