From flying high in flight simulators to climbing into the cockpit of various aircraft, the hands-on experiences are helping to inspire the next generation of female aviation leaders
[Cahokia Heights, ILL., Nov. 5, 2024] Approximately 130 young women from 18 St. Louis area high schools and
organizations recently gathered at St. Louis Downtown Airport for the 2024
Girls in Aviation Day event, where they had the unique opportunity to learn about
the aviation industry and related career fields. The event, which was held on
Oct. 28, is hosted annually by St. Louis University’s Oliver L. Parks
Department of Aviation Science, in partnership with Women in Aviation International.
The goal of Girls in Aviation Day is to educate girls and young women about the
aviation industry and encourage them to pursue careers in aviation and
aerospace, with the aim of increasing the number of women working in the
aviation industry.
“SLU’s
annual Girls in Aviation event is really a great way to get females from around
the St. Louis area introduced to the aviation world,” said Michelle Scheipeter,
Aviation Operations Manager at SLU’s Center for Aviation Science. “There are so
many different aspects of aviation, including jobs that range beyond flight
attendants and pilots, that the students get to experience. It’s pretty
exciting.”
The event featured
interactive, hands-on activities, including the opportunity for attendees to experience
the thrill of flying in high-tech flight simulators.
“Aviation
wasn’t really on my spectrum, but doing the simulation seemed really
interesting,” said Nael Yeye, a senior from Parkway North High School. “I
haven’t had that much exposure to too many fields, but events like this help me
think more about if I want to do this instead.”
Flight
instructors were also on hand with various aircraft used by St. Louis
University’s certified flight instructors for pilot training, and students had
the opportunity to climb into each plane, check out the cockpit and learn basic
flight controls. One aircraft on hand that isn’t typically at SLU’s hangar was a
LearJet, flown in by Major Alicia Canetta of the United States Air Force. She
is also a former SLU student.
“It’s been
15 years since I started in the flight program here at SLU, so being able to
bring in my airplane back to where it all started definitely means a lot,” Canetta
said.
Sophia
Polito, a freshman at Nerinx Hall who is interested in pursuing a career as a
pilot, was impressed by what she was able to experience at this year’s event. “Not
only did we interact with planes provided by the Air Force and SLU’s Aviation
program, but we also learned how to enter the aviation industry and the
opportunities it offers,” she said. “Everything about this event encourages us to
become pilots too.”
The event
also featured a career expo, where students had the opportunity to connect with
representatives from a variety of aerospace and aviation-related companies and
organizations about diverse career opportunities and the skills needed to
secure those types of positions. Among those investing their time at the event
and spotlighting the many opportunities in aviation were: Greater St. Louis
Business Aviation Association, West Star Aviation, the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA), GoJet, St. Louis Downtown Airport, Garmin/Aeronavdata,
St. Louis Lambert International Airport, Southwestern Illinois College Aviation
Technology, Ideal Aviation, Wings of Hope, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.,
AeroCareers NFP & Millstadt Flight Park, the Federal Aviation
Administration, the FAA – St. Louis Air Traffic Control Tower, Republic Airways,
Oliver L. Parks Dept. of Aviation Science and the U.S. Air Force.
“Connecting
with female leaders in aviation and learning about all the opportunities
available within the aviation field helped encourage young women attending the
event to see themselves as leaders in aviation,” said Allie Ivory, a junior at
Nerinx Hall, who is interested in pursuing a mechanical engineering career in
the aviation industry. “As women, we can do this. It’s not just a man’s
workplace. It's so good to be here and see representation from women thriving
in the aviation field.”
A panel
discussion was held during the event, featuring four female Flight Science majors
at SLU. Breanna Booth, Jocelyn Ciotti, Elizabeth (Libby) Sehnert and Sarah
Jelliss shared stories about how they became interested in aviation and provided
insight about their individual career goals and the steps they are taking to
pursue careers in aviation. They also answered questions from the young women in
the audience about their pathways and experiences.
During the
panel, Ciotti, a sophomore studying Flight Science with a minor in Aerospace
Engineering, shared her experience learning aviation operations and taking
aerospace courses during her first year in the program last year. “I realized that this is what I wanted to be doing,
and that aviation is so cool to learn about,” she said. “Fast forward a year
later, I already know so much, and so the knowledge I am gaining is not
stressful because I know how it pays off.”
After the
panel discussion ended, keynote speaker Lindsey Saunders spoke to the students
about her journey to becoming a pilot and finding her place in the aviation
industry. Saunders is an International Aircraft Captain for Nestle Purina and
FAA Designated Pilot Examiner for multiple schools in the region, including SLU’s
Oliver L. Parks Department of Aviation Science. She has 25 years of experience,
12,000+ flight hours and five type ratings. A third-generation pilot, Saunders discussed
what drew her to aviation, the journey to obtaining her private pilot license,
how her original career plans to be a pilot for a commercial airline alongside
her dad were altered due to the tragic events of September 11 and how she has
thrived as a pilot, while balancing a family life. Saunders has spent her
career flying both regionally and corporate and offered females in attendance insight
into what it takes to succeed in the aviation industry.
“Through my
experience as a pilot, I know that any student can get through the training and
get their pilot license, as long as they’re committed to studying and improving
their coordination,” said Saunders. "Those who want it will figure out a
way to afford it and make it happen with the right work ethic and support. I
love being out here with flight schools as a designated pilot examiner, and I
just love showing girls that we can do it too.”
Beyond
being a pilot, there are a variety of different aviation careers that students
can pursue that were on display at this year’s event. Some of the featured careers
were flight attendant, air traffic controller, aircraft mechanic and machinist,
aerospace engineer, aviation meteorologist, flight nurse, various airport and
airline management careers, and many opportunities within the U.S. Airforce.
“According
to Women in Aviation International, across most aviation and aerospace careers,
women make up less than 20% of the workforce, and growth for women in this
industry has been stagnant over the last 60 years,” said Sandra Shore, Airport
Director of St. Louis Downtown Airport. "That’s why events like Girls in
Aviation Day are so important. I am proud that St. Louis Downtown Airport is a
part of this event and serves as a great example of what women can accomplish
in this industry. The airport, the air traffic control tower and the fixed-base
operator that operates out of the terminal are all managed and directed by
women, making it a woman-run airport.”
Schools in
southwestern Illinois and eastern Missouri that had students attending Girls in
Aviation Day included: Bishop Dubourg High School, Belleville East High School,
Freeburg Community High School, Hazelwood East High School, Incarnate Word
Academy, Lindbergh High School, Lutheran High School-St. Charles, Maryville
Christian School, Metro East Lutheran High School, Nerinx Hall, Parkway North
High School, Parkway West High School, Roosevelt High School, Sumner High
School, Vashon High School and Waterloo High School. Individuals from Parkway
Spark! and Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy (IMSA) also attended this
year’s event.
To learn
more about Girls in Aviation Day or opportunities to participate in future
events, contact Michelle Scheipeter at Saint Louis University’s Oliver L. Parks
Department of Aviation Science via email at sseoutreach@slu.edu.
St. Louis
Downtown Airport is owned and operated by Bi-State Development. It is located a
few minutes east of downtown St. Louis in Illinois on 1,000 acres in Cahokia
Heights and Sauget.
About
Bi-State Development
Bi-State Development
(BSD) owns and operates St. Louis Downtown Airport and the Gateway Arch
Riverboats, as well as operates the Gateway Arch Revenue Collections Center and
Gateway Arch trams. BSD is the operator of the Metro public transportation
system in eastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois, which includes the 87
vehicle, 46-mile MetroLink light rail system; a MetroBus vehicle fleet of
approximately 270 clean-burning diesel buses and 24 battery-electric buses; and
Metro Call-A-Ride, a paratransit fleet of 123 vans. BSD also operates the St.
Louis Regional Freightway, the region’s freight district. To learn more about
St. Louis Downtown Airport, visit www.stlouisdowntownairport.com.
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