Meet Chad Hanstedt | Aerospace Engineer, Musician, Children’s Book Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chad Hanstedt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chad, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Here, I’ll refer to the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Maria Montessori also referred to that in her theory about educating children.

I’ll take it a step further. It takes a village, a team, to create anything – a business, a piece of music, a children’s book, or an aerospace project. We can never accomplish great things without others. We need the synergy of a community and the expression of different perspectives. We also need to hold each other accountable. Left alone, we could procrastinate, and nothing would ever get done.

I would never have been able to complete the publishing of my two children’s books, Stanky & Cece: Break the Rules and Stanky & Cece: Out of Control, without embracing this philosophy.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, and what you are most proud of or excited about.

As an aerospace engineer, musician, and children’s book author, my life is steeped in duality, the yin and the yang.

Engineering calls for left-brain analysis. I’ve always had a fascination with mechanical stuff. As a young boy, I would always be taking things apart and sometimes putting them back together. In my neighborhood, there were a couple of dads who were into welding and building forts, bicycles, and more. I was right there in the fray.

Music is also very mathematical, as well as right-brained. I studied music from a young age as well. My mom played organ at church, so we had an organ at home. I began taking organ lessons, and then after a few years, I asked for a guitar, and I figured out how to play chords. Then, I studied music for four years at the Lakeshore Conservatory of Music under Tony Collova. He was amazing. He had perfect pitch, which meant he could just listen to a piece of music and transcribe it as he was listening to it.

As a songwriter and a children’s book author, that’s where the creativity flows, and the right brain part of me takes the lead.

How did you get to where you are today professionally?

I’ve always been willing to put in the time and effort to learn––whether it’s engineering, music, or writing. I also fully embrace the opportunities that come my way.

When I had the chance to leave Wisconsin to begin my engineering career, it meant leaving my family, including my oldest daughter and my parents. Emotionally, that was difficult, but I also realized that this was a milestone of success that I worked hard for as I studied engineering. I spent five years at Milwaukee School of Engineering and earned a bachelor’s in manufacturing engineering and an associate’s in manufacturing.

Then, at 25, I was on a plane and headed for Arizona, alone for the first time in my life. I’d been offered a kickass job, my move was paid for, and I didn’t even have to look for an apartment. All of it was taken care of for me. The decision to accept that job opened a lot of doors for me.

What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way?

My approach to a lot of things––whether it’s engineering, music, or writing–– is to dive in and do it. While that has served me, I would have liked to have done more with a mentor.
Community is important no matter where you are––in Corporate America, in a band, raising a family, or writing children’s books. You’ve got to do the work, but you can’t accomplish great things in isolation. It takes a team.

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

Stanky & Cece are rooted in the real world. Stanky, the jeep, and Cece, the dog, are real. They’re part of my family. The issues that we present in the books are real. We’d like to provide guidance to children about life experiences that they will encounter, teaching them the values through fun stories.

As we’re writing these books, we’re not doing this in a vacuum. We’re looking to our experiences with our families and coming up with these ideas. We turn to our family and ask them their opinions on the storylines and the themes we are addressing, things like self-care, environmental stewardship, strengthening and navigating family and friendships, resilience, adapting to change, cleaning up your messes, chores and responsibilities, self-acceptance, and diversity.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’d like to focus on three places––Sedona, Slide Rock Park, Jerome, and Bisbee.

Sedona is unique with its red rocks and natural views. There are also the vortexes, and one, in particular, is easy to access: the Chapel of the Holy Cross. I’d also visit Cathedral Rock. We’d eat at the Open Range Grill and Tavern and then take a leisure stroll through the nearby shops

Slide Rock State Park in Oak Creek Canyon is a great place to go on a hot day. A full day would include swimming, sliding, of course, and picnicking while soaking up a lot of nature.

Jerome is a must as well. My favorite place is the Old West Junkyard. It’s a throwback in time when the town was alive with mining activities. The dentist’s office, in particular, is thought-provoking––to think how far we’ve come.

The Haunted Hamburger is a great place to grab a burger either before or after touring the Jerome Grand Hotel. It’s rich with history.

Then, just south of Tucson is Bisbee, another mining town that has a hippy, art vibe. I like staying at Mile High Ranch and using that as a base camp to tour the town, including the Queen Mine and the Copper Queen Hotel.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The Stanky and Cece Adventure series may have sprouted from my love of tinkering and off-roading with my jeeps and my foster fail dog, Cece––but it’s really taken a team to bring Stanky and Cece to life.

Kathy Sparrow is my co-author, who, from our very first conversation, saw the potential in the mission to teach values to children through fun stories. She brings years of writing and publishing experience to our project.

Together, we searched for the perfect illustrator and discovered James Koenig of Freelance Fridge in Gilbert, AZ. He embraced our vision from the beginning, offering his insights and also his experience as a children’s book author. When the three of us gather on Zoom, we have very productive brainstorming sessions that have produced our lovable characters.

Jacob Gray, an illustrator who works with James, has also been an invaluable member, assisting James in the creation of all of our characters.

Website: www.stankyandcece.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chad_hanstedt/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-hanstedt-20470746/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chad.hanstedt.1