"I’m a Service Director for Air Canada I’ve been with the airline for 24 years, and I knew from the age of eight that I needed to be in aviation. I wanted to be in the airport and around planes, travelling the world. I loved the smell of jet fuel, and it’s always been with me since I was young.

This evening I’ll be onboard a full flight from Toronto Pearson to Paris. We’ll be landing next year, in 2019. On a flight like this, our customers are super excited—you can feel the anticipation in the cabin. When the clock strikes midnight, our customers may not know which time zone to go by, so they celebrate their own New Year’s moments all throughout the aircraft.

As the Service Director, I liaise between the flight deck and the cabin crew, and with our customers as well, of course. The cabin crew and I make every effort to anticipate the needs of our customers to keep them comfortable and safe with care and class throughout the flight. It’s our honour and privilege to do so, and particularly on such a special evening as New Year’s Eve.

There are parts of this job that can make an incredible impression on you for life. A few years ago, I met a grandfather bringing his granddaughter to Vancouver. She had lost her mother and was distraught, refusing to board. We helped the grandfather by offering the child words of encouragement. I told her that I was young too once and there is always hope. In Vancouver, I helped them off the plane, navigated the baggage carousel and was with them all the way to the parking garage. I was part of their story. Five years later I wrote to her grandfather, asking about her. He told me I was a vital part of that day. It was a very special feeling to know I made a difference for her.

I try to connect with everyone onboard with humanity and warmth and sometimes people will let you into their world and then you know what you can do to make their flight special and memorable. That’s what’s important to me and that’s how you get to know what truly matters in life."

 #PeopleofPearson is Toronto Pearson International Airport’s Facebook Series