Not far from the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is the Duluth International Airport (DLH) and a sprawling campus of buildings where Cirrus Aircraft designs and builds its airplanes. It’s a huge operation, and while it’s easy to see that engineers, mechanics and designers are integral to that mission, there’s a crew of writers who help bring that all together — and Zoe Gutz, ‘25, is one of the newest members of the team.
Point of view: Gutz approaches the open cockpit door of a Cirrus SR series airplane standing by on the tarmac for a flight around Duluth.
From English major to aviation industry professional, Gutz’s story shows how UMD's liberal arts education and hands-on opportunities translate directly into career success.
Gutz grew up in the Twin Cities, but came to UMD to pursue her education in a different environment. “ I toured the campus and just fell in love with Duluth because it's the most beautiful place ever,” she said. “I liked the smaller campus. I liked still being in Minnesota.”
As a student, Gutz wanted to combine a passion for writing with a strong interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). She chose what she calls a middle ground through an English major and a math minor. Alongside her studies, she worked on campus in the Career Center and was an officer with the tennis club.
It was a lot, but she appreciated the broad scope of her education. “ It helped round me out, and also understand different disciplines,” she said.
Some college experiences take you to new heights. For Gutz, an internship with Cirrus Aircraft offered new perspectives, and a job offer after graduation. Pictured is her view of Old Hartley Road in Hartley Park and the UMD Campus (center right) out the window of a Cirrus SR series aircraft.
The Career Center helped her realize what she could do with her education after getting her degree. That support led to an internship opportunity at Cirrus in technical writing. “When I first started my internship and I was looking at documents… I was using what I had learned in class,” she said. “It was kind of perfect.”
”I learned a lot more about writing and doing technical writing.”
She excelled, and it wasn’t long before Gutz was offered a position to continue with the Cirrus team after graduation in December 2025.
She’s now a full-time technical writer, working in the Cirrus Innovation Center. Many of her projects involve airplane maintenance manuals and service bulletins about the inner workings of the company’s latest aircraft. The work combines her interests in STEM with her English skills, translating engineering processes into something that mechanics and end-users can work with.
“I like being able to interact with engineering,” she said. “And it's planes — and they're really cool planes — so who doesn't like doing that?”
And now she’s starting to see some of her work in the innovation center come out through new products like the latest Vision Jet. “Seeing projects that I've worked on that get released… I didn't do any of the engineering for it, but it feels cool, you know? I was a part of that.”
Reflecting on her time at UMD, Gutz appreciates the perspective she gained through interdisciplinary study. “I feel like I learned a lot about myself and about the world.”
Header and footer image: Zoe Gutz graduated from UMD in December 2025 with a job waiting for her as a technical writer at Cirrus Aircraft.
This story was first published on April 24, 2026, on UMD News.