Auburn's War Eagle Chapter of Women in Aviation hosted Girls in Aviation Day at the Auburn University Regional Airport on Oct. 19, where students of all ages were able to explore a variety of different aerospace activities and learn about potential careers.
Women in Aviation serves as an international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing women in aviation roles and careers. The organization's War Eagle Chapter, at Auburn University, was established in 2016 and hosts a number of professional development, community outreach and student involvement events throughout the year, including the yearly autumn event Girls in Aviation Day.
The event has afforded a chance for members of the local Auburn community from all ages to discover a number of different types of airplanes and explore potential careers in aviation, as well as engage in many exciting activities.
This year, younger children at the event enjoyed a variety of hands-on activities, including plane coloring, word searches and paper airplane contests. Those in attendance were able to explore over a dozen planes, where they were able to sit in the cockpit of some of the aircraft and learn more about the inner workings from the pilots themselves. A Visual Flight Rule sectional scavenger hunt was also held, and children were able to take home a number of goodies from the event.
For older students, there were a number of opportunities to engage with professionals from within the aerospace industry to learn about careers offered in aviation. A number of military and commercial companies, such as Delta, Southwest and Envoy Airlines, had booths available to showcase potential endeavors for aspiring high school students interested in studying aviation. Pilots and other experienced professionals, including some Auburn alumni, were present and available to share their experiences working in flight. Students were also offered a chance to learn about training opportunities with airlines and aerospace companies.
"It can be really hard for young people to get into aviation," spoke Chloe Millsapps, a sophomore in professional flight and vice president of the War Eagle Chapter of Women in Aviation. "It's one of those fields that's just not talked about very much, or if it is, it's talked about as a far away objective and not really achievable. We really want to make it seem to kids like aviation is right here, it's part of the community and achievable. Whether they're young or getting close to high school or college, it's a very achievable dream."
Auburn's aviation program in 2024 is now over 20% female, which is over three times the national average among colleges and universities. Auburn's School of Aviation was ranked as the second-best aviation program in the nation for 2023.
"There is a spot for females in aviation here," said Ellie Balose, a sophomore in professional flight and president of the War Eagle Chapter of Women in Aviation. "At Auburn, we have about a 22% female [aviation] population, and the in the industry it's about 12%, so it's rapidly growing here. I want kids, especially girls, to come here and realize that it's possible to be a pilot and there's so many different places they can go and things they can do within the industry."
In the aviation industry, gender diversity has been particularly difficult to foster. According to the World Economic Forum, only 6% of commercial pilots, 26% of air traffic controllers and 9% of aerospace engineers are currently female. However, current trends do suggest improved gender parity is coming. Advancements in promoting equity in the industry, from organizations such as Women in Aviation, have led to continuous yearly increases in the number of women present in the aerospace fields.
"Anyone can do it," said Madilyn Conner, a senior in aerospace engineering and member of the Air Force ROTC present at the event. "It's such a cool career field to go into, and I feel like a lot of girls just feel like they can't do it. Hopefully, they can just see it today and know it's achievable."
Girls in Aviation Day has been an annually held event in autumn by Women in Aviation International since its first observance in 2015. This year's Auburn Girls in Aviation saw several hundred of students and families from the greater Auburn area attend, as the annual event continues to succeed at engaging and cultivating aspiring aviation students.
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