Freddy Hernandez
The title of a feature article in this month’s SOARING magazine, “The Outlandish 1,,” seems more than fitting for its author, former Pierce College student George Constantin.
While a student at Pierce in 1988, Constantin “buzzed” the campus in a single-engine private plane. The repercussions were swift: the Federal Aviation Administration suspended his private pilot’s license for several months; and the Roundup advisers removed him from his position as copy editor on the paper. Neither action, however, has diminished his love of flying and writing.
Fliers have none. They have little room, enough for only the pilot and the passenger. Both have to wear parachutes for the duration of the flight.
Initially, Constantin thought soaring (as it is officially called) was “dumb,” but nevertheless knew he’d want to try it someday. He has gradually grown to like piloting sailplanes and admitted there was “a kind of serenity” that comes about when flying in one.
“It’s something that no matter whatever kind of flying I want to do for fun, I’ll always want to be a soaring pilot,” he finished.
A San Fernando Valley native, he spent his time as a youth hanging around the Van Nuys Airport doing odd jobs in exchange for flying lessons. He grew up in Granada Hills and attended Bishop Alemany High School. He next went on to Pierce College, eventually transferring to the California State University of Fresno in 1993 where he received his bachelor’s degree in English in 1996.
The following year, after being encouraged by his adviser Steve Yarbrough at CSUF, Constantin enrolled in the graduate program for creative writing at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Yarbrough is a contemporary American novelist and has also been the recipient of several awards including the California Book Award and the Mississippi Authors Award. Constantin pointed out that he has always liked writing and remembered wanting to become more creative in his endeavors.
Currently, he teaches college composition part-time at the Woodbridge campus of the NVCC. He said that though he likes working for Boeing, teaching is “definitely” more enjoyable and is “the number one most interesting job” he’s had.
“The business world is important, doing defense contracting is important, but I just love seeing people be adults and making these decisions regarding their lives.”
Furthermore, Constantin proclaimed that he still feels “really young” and “well-connected” to the students, adding that education is important to him and a really “big turn-on.”
His writing accomplishments include his article forSOARING magazine, which according to its website, is “recognized world-wide as the leading authority on the sport of soaring.”
In addition to that, he has written a novel called “The Autobiography of California.” It can be found on microfilm at the Writers Guild of America, west, in L.A. Constantin described the first-person narrative as “self-centered and egotistical,” about a “middle-class white guy….pissed off at everything.” Some of its chapters have been published in quarterlies.
Constantin referred to himself as an “airplane fanatic” and said he has had an engrossment with aviation ever since he was a child. Yet it is sheer coincidence that he ended up working for Boeing which happens to be a leading American aircraft and aerospace manufacturer as well as a defense contractor. His responsibility is to help make sure the company answers the government’s questions should it issue a request for proposals for the construction of a missile. Constantin has received the Pride at Boeing Award twice, once in 2002 and more recently in 2005 due to his profound work.
“We never know where life’s taking us,” he reflected.
There is a sense of irony in the fact that a self-proclaimed “slacker at heart” who initially did not excel in school, is now someone of respectability, prestige – and a sense of humor.
“I went to college twice,” he chuckled, “the first time I flunked out.”
Still, it can be said that both Constantin’s academic and professional success have soared to new heights and show no signs of landing anytime soon. Perhaps it is those experiences that students can draw upon in order to keep from fretting about school as only they tend to do. To them, he offered these words:
“Don’t get discouraged,” he advised.
“The odds are always going to be frightfully against you, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.”