Girls who want to work in aviation and aerospace some day now have a new face to look up to. Carole Glenn from the Arizona Department of Transportation recently organised the statewide Wings to Fly program, which gives girls and young women aged 11 to 19 an unmissable chance to hear stories of women who carved out rewarding careers in this male-dominated field.

Right now, women now hold only 18% of non-pilot careers in aviation which means the opportunities for girls to make a name for themselves within the industry are huge.

The Wings to Fly Program will take place on April 21 at Challenger Space Center in Peoria, and will consist of a range of seminars and bonding activities. The registration deadline is this Friday, 13 April.

Participants will include NASA engineer and keynote speaker Aprille Ericcson, Stacy Howard, the Western regional representative for Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and Gwen Kross, who is the vice president of operations for All Out Aerial, who said…

Girls in Arizona who aspire to take to the skies often rely on school counselors who don’t know where to direct them [and] parents also aren’t always much help. (They) would say, ‘It’s a boys club to get into. There’s not a circle for these girls to go get support.

But now, thanks to Carole Glenn, there is!

For more information on the program, and details of how to register, visit the Arizona Division of Transport Aeronautics Division website.