ATEC 2026 Award Winners Honored In Portland

Every ATEC award winner is exceptional—but even among the best, a few rise above.

Micheal McDaniel's dedication earned him 2026 ATEC Student of the Year honors. Micheal is wrapping up his coursework at Alabama Aviation College-Ozark. If all goes as planned, he'll earn his Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) certificate in May, and land his first job in the industry soon after.

What sets Micheal apart from hundreds of other aspiring A&P mechanics graduating in the coming months?
For one, aviation maintenance will be his fourth career. He started work life in food safety, putting his environmental science degree to use. He then took over a family-run tax preparation business, growing it to 16 locations before selling it. Not one to sit at home, Micheal earned his Class A commercial drivers' license and became a fuel truck driver.

But the son of an Air Force A&P mechanic realized his true calling was to follow his father's footsteps. So he enrolled at Alabama in August 2024, attending night classes after working his day job. Two years later, he'll be walking across the stage. His son will be there too, but not in the audience. He'll be alongside Micheal in the graduation line, ready to embark on his own aviation maintenance career.

"I definitely fit the category of that little older age group," Micheal said during the 2026 ATEC Annual Conference awards ceremony in Portland, Ore. "I'm very proud, and I'm very thankful to all of you. But honestly, my proudest thing is that when I walk across the stage, my son's going to [walk with me]. He's a 22-year-old young man that's getting started at the right time."

Micheal was one of six annual award and scholarship winners honored at the annual conference.

Pictured: Ryan Goertzen, President, Choose Aerospace; John Gamble, Education Partnerships Manager, Snap-on; Gail Rouscher, Secretary, NRF; Micheal McDaniel, ATEC Student of the Year Award; Stan Smith, Director, Alabama Aviation College; Abbey Hutter, Marketing Coordinator, JSfirm

Award Winners:

• ATEC Student of the Year - Micheal McDaniel, Alabama Aviation College
• ATEC Educator of the Year - Osmin Ramirez, Universal Technical Institute
• Aviation Maintenance Training System Award - Maria Wilcox, University of Maine Augusta
• Dale Hurst Memorial Scholarship - Jason Leroy, CTEC Salem Keizer School District
• ATEC Academy Professional Development Award - James Hutches, CTEC Salem Keizer School District
• Dr. Tammera Holmes Youth Educator of the Year - Brandi Peace, Tri County Tech

ATEC extends its congratulations to each of our winners, and its gratitude to presenting award and scholarship sponsors JSfirm.com, Snap-on, NRF, Nida Corporation, and Avotek.