Mark Stewart '83, a UW-Eau Claire political science graduate, and Amanda (Tarbutton) Piggott '99,
a criminal justice graduate, both pilots for Southwest Airlines,
recently were paired up during a flight from Denver to Houston.
“To our surprise, we discovered we were both UW-Eau Claire alumni!” Stewart said.
Stewart said he’s been making a living flying airplanes since 1985. He took his first flying lesson at the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in 1980 while attending UW-Eau Claire.
Piggott learned to fly at the Lake Elmo (Minn.) Airport while still in high school.
“After I graduated from UW-Eau Claire, I realized my love of flying was so great that I had to pursue my dreams,” Piggott said.
Stewart and Piggott, based in Denver, occasionally fly out of Milwaukee or Minneapolis and would enjoy chance meetings with other UW-Eau Claire graduates.
“Perhaps our fellow alumni would get a kick out of checking out the flight deck prior to their next flight on Southwest Airlines,” Stewart said. “Amanda or I might be taking them to their destination!”
Friends may reach Stewart at stewart.swapa@gmail.com and Piggott at pandasfly@me.com.
