By: Kaycie Kile
WPJ Reporter
We’ve all had that moment as a child when we looked far above our head with our fingers outstretched, wondering what it’d be like to sail or float through the open air and never come back down. Later that night, we’d tuck our heads in and dream of colors, clouds, and crusades. For most of us, that’s it–we’re up and off to the next thing. Then there are those who never entirely pulled their head out of those same clouds; the idea sticks, growing fingers and toes of its own with a desire to steer the dream straight into reality. With less than 1% of the American population holding a private pilot certificate, it’s a significant aspiration to nurture, especially when we break it down further and see that out of that 1% (roughly 730,000 people), less than 30% of our pilots are women.
Delta Airlines’ WING program (Women Inspiring the Next Generation) has been putting girls on exclusively female-operated flights since 2015. The primary goal of WING is to introduce and encourage the next generation of girls to jobs that are involved or associated with STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). They strive to break down gender stereotypes in the workplace and create a safe and informative environment for all the creative and intelligent young ladies who have their heads in the clouds and their eyes on bigger things. Hundreds of young ladies applied for the opportunity to be involved in their Women In Aviation Day. Prioritizing southern schools with magnet STEM programs made individual spots for students of non-partnered schools limited. Despite the odds, among the 130 girls selected, Winnfield’s own Madison Foster, a 14-year-old freshman at Winnfield High school, was aboard for the adventure of a lifetime.
Thanks to her excellent grades and the essay she submitted for consideration, Madison had a seat on the first commercial flight to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Meritt, Florida! But the day didn’t end there, with the added privilege of setting her eyes on Artemis 1, a planned uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission, the first spaceflight in NASA’s Artemis program, and the first flight of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the complete Orion spacecraft (projected launch window early Nov 2022.), Miss Foster had the memorable opportunity to “work” alongside NASA engineers and soak in the trade secrets.
Delta Airlines took the initiative to ensure all involved, from air to ground, were female; this flight could have very well have been the first of many groundbreaking moments for all the young ladies involved! Congratulations to Miss Foster for all her hard work and the accomplishments that have led to this remarkable opportunity! It’s incredibly reassuring to know another promising example of what this community’s up-and-coming minds have to offer was present through it all.
If you have a child or young adult within the parish area whom you feel deserves recognition or the spotlight for their awesome accomplishments and/or deeds please do not hesitate to send us the details ASAP via email, at ‘wpjreporter@gmail.com’. We’d love to feature more of the competent and rising stars from this area! Thank you for reading!
