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AVIAN in the News

Teammate Tuesday: Ben Shevchuk

Apr 16th, 2019

A lifelong-learner, Ben “Chevy” Shevchuk, brings his passion for connecting with others to the workplace every day.

A retired naval aviator and devoted husband and father of two, Chevy is a man of his community through and through. He’s an active member and volunteer at Southpoint Church and a community representative at the local Medstar St. Mary’s Hospital.  You’ll find Chevy in roles where he can strengthen his connection with others and share knowledge and wisdom.

He also enjoys visual storytelling through the lens of a camera, especially when he’s outside with his Goldendoodle, Gizmo.

Over the next year, Chevy plans to take a family adventure to Belize where he’ll dive the barrier reef and celebrate 25 years of marriage with his wife, Cheryl.

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT ROLE AT AVIAN AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WITH US?

I am in the Training, Multimedia & Consulting sector as a courseware developer and instructor. I’ve been working at AVIAN since July of 2018.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST IMPACTFUL MOMENT IN YOUR CAREER THUS FAR?

Overcoming a difficult situation that could have been a real professional failure. For me as a Christian, I could see that God was working in my life through the challenges of carrier qualifications, or CQ. I struggled at the aircraft carrier as a flight student and I don’t know how to say it…it was even tougher to struggle one more time as a Commander about to take responsibility for the training squadron. The humility that goes with retraining and getting back on the step and focusing…it gives you a certain perspective that you can’t get any other way. I mean you can believe that you should be humble and patient and inquisitive and think differently about people. It really taught me how people learn in different ways. I knew I’d have a voice to speak to people facing challenges like that.

WHAT MAKES YOU MOST EXCITED TO SUPPORT OUR TRAINING, MULTIMEDIA & CONSULTING PROGRAM?

I have seen professionals learning since, well I first saw it as a college student early on, then in flight training, again in the fleet replacement squadrons and then I was a fleet replacement squadron pilot. As a training command CO [commanding officer] we worked to improve our curriculum and operations, both flying and classroom time, so what I get excited about is learners who are always striving. I love that we get to learn for the good of our country! Our national security is an incredibly important mission. It’s a privilege to continue supporting that with AVIAN for the benefit of the workforce, whether DoD civilian or contractor or officer or enlisted. They are all doing things for the good of our country and building their skill level is fantastic.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT WORKING FOR AVIAN?

I keep seeing ways the value of each employee is affirmed. I’ve been here less than a year and really appreciate how this is regularly shown to be a priority. It was in my first three-weeks that I saw our President and VPs taking time out of their day to recognize and say thank you to one-year and five-year employees, and to celebrate accomplishments by passing along command certificates. Things like Cookies for Customers is another way to give back, and the “Give Thanks” cards made it very personal to me. So, I’m impressed at how evident it is that leaders value their employees. It’s all over our taglines, as you know…and I just want to say that when you witness it every week it’s proof that folks want to be a part of this team and why I want to be part of the team.

NAME ONE PERSON WHO MOTIVATES YOU.

Larry Matthews. He is a friend and mentor of mine over my career. He taught me about faith and about taking action when it’s kind of easy to just be busy with work which a lot of people think is fine, but he says there is more to it than that. Yes, do your work well, but engage the people around you with a message – in his case, he is a missionary to the military with group called the Navigators. He’s been to my changes of command, he prayed at my retirement ceremony, he keeps me thinking about what it’s like to influence others in positive, meaningful ways beyond the professional.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE “PERK” ABOUT WORKING FOR AVIAN?

You know, it’s the gatherings. The intentional get togethers – Thirsty Thursday, Terrific Tuesday, Horizons. It may seem to some people, “I have too much to do…why do you have all these distractions?” But you can take it for what it is and enjoy the chance to connect with people. An office is not a ready room, but community is community. An office can still be amazing, or it can be dull, so I think intentionally putting things together for work and play…to me that is a cultural dynamic and perk that people really value…and talk about.

WHAT WAS YOUR CHILDHOOD DREAM JOB?

I was gonna be Dr. Dolittle! I just loved animals. I studied biology and was going to go into medicine, but I had an ROTC scholarship, so I opted to fly and it’s been awesome.

IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ANY CELEBRITY, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY?

That would have been Billy Graham. His love and his focus and his integrity represent what we are all able to do if we are fully committed.

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