WHS students take flight
Pictured, WHS students Sydney Woodard (left) and Iris Adkins (right) were able to sit in the cockpit and “take the controls” of an aircraft used by SLU’s certified flight instructors for pilot training during the Girls in Aviation event. Pictured with the students is SLU flight instructor Riya Scrambichira.
Approximately 130 young women, including two Waterloo High School students, 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 Oct. 28, is hosted annually by Saint 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.
Flight instructors were also on hand with various aircraft used by SLU’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.
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.
