My Path to the Skies

My life has always been a little chaotic, and my aviation journey followed that track. I wouldn't say I always wanted to be a pilot by any means. I've always been fascinated with aviation and airplanes in general, but oddly enough it never crossed my mind to become a professional pilot. I account this to not seeing enough female representation in the field when I was growing up, because I'm sure if women in aviation had the spotlight then, that they do now, my early 20's would've looked much different.

When I was growing up my dad had a love for general aviation. He got his private license with an instrument rating and actually partnered in a few different planes throughout the years. When I turned 15, I got my first flight bag with a pink logbook and a headset that was so uncomfortable I would rather not wear it. I started doing some training at our local airport with an independent CFI who was older. All I can remember about this training is how uncomfortable I was, physically and mentally. The airplane was a tailwheel, I couldn't reach the rudder pedals nor see the cowling. I just didn't get it. I couldn't remember the flows after being at school and practices from 8-5. I would be so zoned out during the "grounds", I had absolutely no clue what was going on - and to add to this stress, I was also learning to drive a car at the same time. Moral of this story is that I logged 6.6 hours and nothing else until I started flight school at ATP. I tell this because, while many years ago, I think it is what initially deterred me from exploring aviation as a career possibility.

My sophomore year of high school I began researching colleges. I wanted to pay soccer so I knew I would be choosing a school and major before my senior year. After countless showcases and visits to colleges I committed to play division one soccer at a local university. The team would be a start-up, the first women's soccer team the school had ever had. We would play as an independent for the first year and then in the fall of 2020 we would join the Missouri Valley Conference. I choose biology as a major, I had always been interested in the medical field, orthopedics in particular. Oddly enough, Southern Illinois University has one of the best part 141 aviation programs in the United States, but that was just never an option for me with the time restraints of playing soccer at such a high level.

College was tough, physically, academically, and mentally. As a start-up team we endured a lot of hardships (I'll spare you the details). After a year and a half at SIU which included a pandemic (COVID-19) among many (many) other things, I decided I need to get away from Southern Illinois. I entered the transfer portal in December of 2020. I ended up transferring to the University of Southern Indiana for the Spring 2021 semester. I loved USI as a university, and everyone I met there was amazing. What I found out when I moved there was that I no longer loved the thing I love most, and that was playing soccer. I think my experience at my first school, SIU killed that love for the game.

(This is where it starts to get good!) After my single semester at SIU, I decided to go spend the summer on Clearwater Beach in Florida at my parents new beach house. I got a job on the beach and spent the entire summer by myself. It was the best summer I've ever had. I really learned how to enjoy spending time by myself while I explored the Tampa Bay area. When I say I knew absolutely nobody down here, I'm being serious. I met friends at work, and met a boy (on tinder, that didn't end too well), but other than that I spent the summer alone and it was exactly what I needed. I decided I loved Florida so much that I wanted to join my sister, who was going to be a freshman at the University of South Florida and stick around. I hung up my boots and focused on my studies.

That first school year in Florida was harder than I was expecting. I got really home sick, but stuck it out. I started to make friends by the second semester which I still have to this day. I got a job as an assistant coach with a local youth soccer program and it was the best way for me to rekindle my love for soccer. Things were looking up by the time I finished my junior year at USF. That continued into my senior year too. I joined the USF Women's Club Soccer Team and played the best soccer I've ever played in my life. I was even voted team captain, taking our team all the way to the league championship. And let me tell you-club soccer in Florida is NO JOKE! Those girls were good.

When December of my senior year hit, I knew I had to start thinking about what was next. I was going to graduate with a biology degree, a pretty average GPA, around 155 credit hours (you only need 120 to graduate), and three universities on my transcript. My resume had a lot of soccer on it and that's about it. I, for one, knew I would not get accepted into a medical school, but also had no interest in trying. I decided to take a different path and research law schools (we have a family owned law firm). I ended up taking the LSAT two times, both producing pretty average scores (try studying for the LSAT and organic chemistry at the same time - its tough). I applied to a few law schools and ended up getting accepted, on scholarship, to Southern Illinois University (sounds familiar right?). I immediately knew I didn't want to go back to SIU. I was pretty much at a loss for what to do.

What I didn't tell anyone is that the entire time I was studying for the LSAT and researching these law schools, I was also researching flight schools, and the possibility of becoming either a military or civilian pilot (sorry if you're reading this, Dad). One day, I was sitting in organic chemistry two and my dad sent me a facebook reel of something aviation related. I took that as my chance to tell him what I had been thinking about doing. He said I was crazy, but he also said that it would be "awesome!!!". I knew what I would have to do, going back to school for another year, and the long road to 1500 hours, but most importantly I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do.