By Jennifer Iiams, EAA 1202674
From a young age, I learned the importance of education, hard work, and dedication from my parents. Because of their love and sacrifice, I now retain these very skills to establish the life I want to live — in all things aviation.
During travels with my family in my teenage years, I discovered my love and passion for airplanes. However, I am the first one in my family to fall in love with aviation. Though determination, hard work, and sacrifice are all pieces to the puzzle of success, a more painful requirement has been a willingness to move away from family and friends to pursue continued opportunities in my chosen field.
In 2017, I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and began my aviation career working as a ramp agent. Two years, two different companies, and advancements to lead agent and eventually corporate trainer positions at both companies, set me up to accept a position with United Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the spring of 2019. I absolutely love working outdoors with the aircraft and I’m always taking unique photos of airplanes.
In the fall of 2019, I received a scholarship from EAA, the Jim Grist Flight Training Scholarship, to help fund my private pilot certificate and began part-61 flight training. In April 2020, just short of being ready for a checkride, I received news that I needed hip surgery to fix a torn muscle. After learning to walk again, I got back in an airplane mid-August. I am excited to say I officially became a pilot on December 22, 2020, and I cannot express how happy I am.
Receiving the scholarship took the worry out of funding most of my certificate. I really enjoyed the way the funds were handled. Instead of awarding the whole amount up front, they set goals on various portions of the funds to help motivate and encourage completion in a timely manner: solo flight, written exam, and checkride.
I will forever be thankful for how EAA helped me accomplish my goal of becoming a pilot. From here on, I eventually I plan to have my ratings and enough hours to fly for a living. My mid-term goals in aviation are to bush fly, get my seaplane rating, fly a jet, own my own airplane, and be able to teach others (especially other aspiring females) about it all. My long-term goal is to own my own company in the aviation industry. In the meantime, I look forward to being able to serve and give back to EAA and other amazing organizations.