TM
| Encouraging more women and girls to have an interest in aviation... |
Scroll
Trina:
In 1992 I was given the opportunity to visit the Soviet Union with a group from my middle
school. We flew from Myrtle Beach, SC to Krasnoyarsk, Russia on US Airways, Air France and
Aeroflot. This expence gave me my first exposure to culture on a global leval and the desire to
fill my future with travel. When I came home, I remember telling my mother that I wanted to
become a flight attendant. The women on the plane and in the airport were the role models
that were visible to me then. It never occurred to me that I could be a pilot.
When I was first hired as a flight attendant in 2005 I was required to sit in the flight deck on
my final day of IOE as part of my training. Although I had flown extensively as a passenger, I
had never been in the flight deck. When we began taxiing from the gate, I felt the butterflies
gathering in my stomach and as we climbed I knew I would never be completely satisfied
working in the cabin.
Over the last two and a half years, I have worked for both a regional and a mainline airline. I
have had the opportunity to work with many pilots, male and female, who have encouraged
me to pursue a career as a pilot. If given the scholarship from Girls With Wings, I would be a
great role model because I embody the essence of women moving into roles traditionally held
by men. I have already devoted my life to a career in aviation and look forward to adding
stripes to my epaulets. I can’t wait to be the one showing young girls and grown women alike
that they can be pilots.
In 1992 I was given the opportunity to visit the Soviet Union with a group from my middle
school. We flew from Myrtle Beach, SC to Krasnoyarsk, Russia on US Airways, Air France and
Aeroflot. This expence gave me my first exposure to culture on a global leval and the desire to
fill my future with travel. When I came home, I remember telling my mother that I wanted to
become a flight attendant. The women on the plane and in the airport were the role models
that were visible to me then. It never occurred to me that I could be a pilot.
When I was first hired as a flight attendant in 2005 I was required to sit in the flight deck on
my final day of IOE as part of my training. Although I had flown extensively as a passenger, I
had never been in the flight deck. When we began taxiing from the gate, I felt the butterflies
gathering in my stomach and as we climbed I knew I would never be completely satisfied
working in the cabin.
Over the last two and a half years, I have worked for both a regional and a mainline airline. I
have had the opportunity to work with many pilots, male and female, who have encouraged
me to pursue a career as a pilot. If given the scholarship from Girls With Wings, I would be a
great role model because I embody the essence of women moving into roles traditionally held
by men. I have already devoted my life to a career in aviation and look forward to adding
stripes to my epaulets. I can’t wait to be the one showing young girls and grown women alike
that they can be pilots.
