Jerry Liu ‘12 is committed to aviation safety

“The decision that I made to attend Farragut in 2009 was not easy,” said Farragut alumnus Bolun “Jerry” Liu ‘12. “I was too young to recognize that I was about to begin a journey beyond imagination. An ordinary teenager is not expected to make his bed, iron his clothes, clean his own room, and do homework without supervision or parent’s help. However, by my senior year, I had transformed completely into a responsible young adult with goals for my future. I owe many of my leadership skills to Admiral Farragut Academy.”

After the tragic 2010 crash of Henan Airlines Flight 8387 in Yichun, China, Jerry wanted to focus on making civil aviation a safer industry. At Farragut he took three years of aviation courses and enjoyed an introductory flight from Director of Aviation Rob Ewing. Upon graduation, Jerry decided that Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) was the right college decision.

I had transformed completely into a responsible young adult with goals for my future. I owe many of my leadership skills to Admiral Farragut Academy.

During his years at ERAU, he interned at Shenzhen Airlines. There, he observed airline operations, trained on a level-D FFS, and learned the inside and out of a Boeing 737. He also participated in the swim club, the International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) ERAU chapter, was an Orientation ambassador, a lifeguard at the ERAU pool, and was the safety officer of the Eagles Flight Team. In 2016, he won the competition safety award of the national NIFA SAFECON on behalf of the Embry-Riddle Eagles Flight Team. Between university summers, he was also an intern for Draco Aerosystems, LLC, where he participated in numerous projects working on flight test safety and transport aircraft certifications. He had the honor and privilege of working alongside some of the best test pilots in the world while working at Draco Aerosystems, LLC. Upon graduating from ERAU in 2017, Jerry had his bachelors in Aerospace and Occupational Safety with a flight minor and a commercial pilot certificate (Airplane Multiengine Land, Instrument Airplane).

Today Jerry is working as an Aerospace and Occupational Specialist at Sine Draco Aviation Technology, Ltd in Bellevue, WA. In October 2020, he helped the company obtain its first-ever AS9100 aerospace standards certificate. As one of the youngest in the company, Jerry oversees six company mandatory training programs and 50 training records, and he is the facilitator of the OSHA regulations in the Bellevue office. Jerry is in charge of making the decision of the computer specifications and is responsible for ordering, inspecting, and setting over 50 new computers, servers, routers for the company in the US as well as the headquarters in China.

The biggest challenge, he said, has been the implementation of the paperless work environment in a traditional industry. Today, as a direct result of Jerry’s efforts, Sine Draco is a nearly 100% paperless company (unless required by regulatory bodies such as the FAA or technology-challenged suppliers/customers).

Of all Jerry’s many accomplishments, perhaps the one he is most proud of is securing a position from the Department of Labor as a foreign worker. Approved by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, he is among the few American Dreamers who are chasing their dream in a dedicated and motivated path. All of these accomplishments, however, were almost unimaginable for a 16-year-old Chinese teen.