Aims Air Traffic Control Program Fast-Tracks Cañon City Graduate to Federal Controller Role

Ben Marushack graduated from Aims Community College's air traffic control program in December 2024 with no prior aviation background. By June 2025, he was working as a federal air traffic controller at Paine Field in Washington—a trajectory that demonstrates how the Windsor-based program has become a pipeline into one of aviation's most demanding careers.

Marushack grew up in Cañon City, initially pursued golf instruction after high school, then shifted to aviation. He applied to the FAA Academy in March 2024, completed it in spring 2025, passed the Air Traffic Skills Assessment that summer, and after medical and background screening, selected Paine Field from an FAA facility list. He started work there in June 2025.

The FAA selection process is unforgiving. "It's kind of a one-and-done situation," Marushack said. "If you don't pass, there's not really a second chance."

The Aims Air Traffic Control associate degree program runs approximately three semesters of simulator-based lab training. The program is FAA-approved under the Collegiate Training Initiative, a pathway designed to prepare graduates for federal hiring. Aims caps classes at six to eight students with typical 1:2 student-to-instructor ratios.

"The equipment we trained on at Aims was almost a mirror image of what they use at the FAA Academy," Marushack said. "It made the Academy less of a shock."

At Aims, Marushack worked with retired controllers as instructors. He valued the program's sense of community. "You walk in the door and you don't feel like a number," he said. "People know your name. I made a couple of my closest friends during my time at Aims."

Paine Field is a busy, multi-use facility near Seattle that blends general aviation, commercial passenger flights, and significant aerospace industry activity.

"My time at Aims allowed me to not only be successful at the FAA Academy, but to start my career with confidence," Marushack said. "I can't imagine how hard the road would've been without Aims."