Bushra Zaidi and Riaz Zaidi celebrate after participating in May’s commencement ceremony at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Bushra Zaidi graduated magna cum laude from the UMSL/Washington University Joint Undergraduate Engineering Program with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, while Riaz Zaidi graduated from the College of Education with a PhD in STEM education. (Photo courtesy of Riaz Zaidi)

Riaz Zaidi had years of practice when he walked across the stage in the Mark Twain Athletic Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis this past May.

The commencement ceremony for the College of Education marked Zaidi’s 10th college graduation, though one aspect made it significantly different than the previous nine celebrations.

Zaidi, who earned a PhD in STEM education, shared the stage with his daughter Bushra, who graduated magna cum laude from the UMSL/Washington University Joint Undergraduate Engineering Program with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a certificate from the Pierre Laclede Honors College.

“It felt incredibly special to reach this milestone with my dad,” she said. “It was nice to see the things we had both spent years working hard on come to fruition. There was a lot to celebrate that weekend. My dad definitely had an influence on my academic success, he inspired me to choose mechanical engineering as my major since he’s an engineer himself. And, just always having the support of both him and my mom helped me get through college.”

Zaidi’s commitment to the pursuit of knowledge clearly made a positive impact on his daughter. It’s also led to an extensive academic resume that includes two associate degrees, two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; three master’s degrees from Washington University in St. Louis; and a master’s degree and, now, a doctorate from UMSL.

In addition to academics, Zaidi has built a successful 30-year career in the aviation industry. At Boeing, he served as a senior engineer with Phantom Works, an advanced prototyping arm of the company, and as a project engineer on the F/A-18 Hornet, AH-64 Apache, and F-15 Eagle programs. Currently, he’s the principal systems engineer on the SF50 Vision Jet at Cirrus Aircraft.

As a graduate research assistant at UMSL, he has collaborated with Keith Miller, the Orthwein Endowed Professor for Lifelong Learning in the Sciences Professor, to deliver science education to the St. Louis community. They have worked with the Saint Louis Science Center on several interactive events and with Girls Inc. of St. Louis to administer the organization’s Eureka! program, an intensive summer initiative that focuses on STEM education and college readiness.

Zaidi’s passion for aviation began early with his family. He was born to Pakistani parents in Iraq, and the family frequently traveled across central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

“My dad was an engineer, and as a child I was interested in engineering,” he said. “One of his close friends in in Iraq was an aeronautical engineer – he worked for the Pakistani airline. I enjoyed reading about airplanes and discussing them with him. So, both my dad and his friend were a big influence on my selection of engineering. In elementary school, I wanted to be an engineer and by middle school, I decided to be an aeronautical engineer.”

He had a natural aptitude for school and excelled academically at his school in Iraq, Baghdad College, which was established by Jesuits from Boston.

“I think my math and science training and the discipline that I learned in that school kept my interest in science and engineering,” Zaidi said.

In the early ’80s, Zaidi’s father decided to move the family to Egypt when Saddam Hussein took control of the Ba’athist regime in Iraq. He finished his final year of schooling at Cairo American College in Cairo. After graduation he moved to Florida and enrolled at Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach.

Because he had attended American schools and spoke English, Zaidi adjusted fairly well to life in the United States and continued to be a dedicated student.

Initially, he entered college intending to complete a six-year program, where he would earn an associate degree in aircraft maintenance and then a bachelor’s degree in aircraft engineering. Along the way, he decided to broaden his knowledge base and picked up enough classes to earn a second associate degree focused on aircraft electronics. He also served as editor of Beyond the Horizon, the international student newspaper at the university.

However, circumstances outside of his control altered his plans further.

“This was in the late ’80s, so during that time, my goal was to work for the airlines as an engineer,” he explained. “But the airline industry was going through a hard time. Since aeronautical engineering and mechanical engineering are very close, you could work for Westinghouse, GE or some other engineering company. Many of my friends even decided to work in the automotive industry. But my passion was aviation, so I wanted to continue searching for employment in the aviation industry.”

Zaidi decided to stay at Embry-Riddle and began working on his second bachelor’s degree in aircraft engineering and then a master’s degree in aeronautical science. In 1992, he finally found a job in aviation with McDonnell Douglas, which would later merge with Boeing. The position took him to St. Louis, but he still had another year or so left in his graduate program.

Luckily, the university was forward-thinking when it came to its educational delivery methods.

“They started Embry-Riddle Worldwide, so they started doing distance learning,” Zaidi said. “Before the internet, what they used to do, they sent their lectures before the semester on a videotape. We used to communicate through ASCII files – upload documents, download documents. The old style of sending data. That’s how we communicated.”

Most people would have been content with five college degrees, but Zaidi was single in a new place with ample free time. Plus, he enjoyed the learning process, so he began filling his evenings with graduate courses at Washington University. Eventually, he earned master’s degrees in technology, engineering management and international affairs. He admits his degree in international affairs took a bit longer than the others, as his wife and daughter had entered the picture by that point.

Around 2015, Zaidi left Boeing to explore the possibility of entering academia. He felt at home in higher education and enjoyed serving on Embry-Riddle’s Mechanical Engineering Industry Advisory Board.

Despite his many credentials, Zaidi judged that a serious effort to work in academia would require a doctorate. He was drawn to the experienced, knowledgeable faculty members in UMSL’s College of Education and its reputation for rigorous instruction.

Since 2017, Zaidi has had the opportunity to work closely with Miller as well as Phyllis Balcerzak, associate teaching professor of education, and Theresa Coble, the E. Desmond Lee Endowed Professor of Experiential and Family Education.

His PhD research and community engagement with Miller have focused on ethics in technology, online education and STEM education. In 2017, he presented a paper titled, “Is It Time for Robot Interpreters,” with Miller at the National Association for Interpretation’s annual conference. The pair also presented a paper on corporate ethics titled, “Two Recent Lessons in Ethical Humility: Boeing’s 737 MAX and Volkswagen’s Dieselgate,” at the 2020 Asian Conference on Ethics, Religion & Philosophy in Tokyo.

Zaidi’s experience in the College of Education and his involvement with the Saint Louis Science Center and Girls Inc. have been transformative, enriching his understanding of pedagogy and what goes into the transference of knowledge.

“I had many professors with PhDs and a couple of them from MIT, but they were not as good teaching-wise,” he said. “I would recommend all professors, whether they’re teaching arts, science, aerospace engineering or biology, whatever, they need to take few education classes from the College of Education.”

For now, Zaidi is still in the aviation industry, but he hopes to find a way to contribute to STEM education in the future. He knows his education is responsible for where he’s at today, and he feels it’s his duty to support future generations.

“I think this is a way of paying back to this society,” he said. “It’s my way of giving it back to the society that contributed to my growth. I think any society, any part of the world, academia and education is key, especially in the United States. Education is the only possession that is never lost or goes to waste.”