Photo above – Scholarship Winners
The fifth annual Women’s Aviation Career Symposium (WACS) was held on Saturday, March 18th at the Western Michigan University (WMU) College of Aviation. This event was a professional career conference (for women only) designed to introduce women to aviation and promote networking, education, and scholarships while building up the aviation community.
“This is a great way to network and connect with local women,” Helen Hagg, Corporate Pilot, and co-founder of WACS said, “It is a way for women to experience different careers in aviation that they may not be aware of and to learn about all of the opportunities available to them.”
Despite the severe winter weather on the morning of the event, over 220 people attended, selling out the event. Over two-thirds of attendees were in high school or college. Representatives from over 40 aviation companies, including corporate and charter flight departments, 10 different airline companies, as well as several aviation schools visited and spoke with attendees. The event was sponsored by 45 companies of which 25 were new. Sponsors included Gulfstream Aerospace, WMU College of Aviation, Duncan Aviation, Dow, Francine and Theo Hagg, GrandAir Aviation, Jackson National, Michigan Business Aviation Association, PSA Airlines, and United Aviate. Through generous sponsorships, WACS was able to award scholarships in the amount of $2000 to 20 women (totaling $40,000) for aviation education to go towards flight training, maintenance training, and professional development. This brings the total WACS has awarded since inception to $81,500 given to 43 women.
Attendees were able to immerse themselves in the many aviation careers available during roundtable discussions. Panelists representing 10 different aviation career fields including Airlines, Air Traffic Control, Airport Operations, Corporate and Charter, Engineering and Aerospace, Flight Support, Maintenance, and Military Aviation answered questions about and discussed “a day in the life” of their field of aviation.
Exhibitors and sponsors had the opportunity to join an industry briefing hosted by the Michigan Business Aviation Association MBAA, where they discussed current topics including labor shortages, supply chain challenges, recruitment and retention, as well as diversity in aviation.
The event featured opportunities to network with professionals at the exhibit booths. Throughout the day many workshops were held to promote professional development. Workshops included Engineering, Internships, Resume and Scholarships Applications, Career Paths, and Maintenance. Aircraft tours hosted by WACO Aircraft Corp, Cirrus and Boeing 737 Simulator sessions, and WMU College of Aviation tours provided fun hands-on learning and exploration. The day ended with keynote speaker Tammy “G” Barlette, founder of Athena’s Voice, retired Lieutenant Colonel and fighter pilot, encouraging and inspiring young women to persevere in their goals. Barlette spoke on keeping a mission focused mindset. She emphasized how to stay focused on the immediate “mission” instead of getting trapped amid hard moments, “We give up too early on our dreams and our goals, whether they are big or small. We should be ready to fail out instead of bail out.” The presentation of scholarships followed.
“In the last couple of years, this event has evolved into a recruiting event as well as an educational event. We have numerous local companies attend, hoping to fill internships and job positions,” Mary Poirier, Corporate Pilot and WACS co-founder said, “Our mission has grown from promoting women, to helping them get hired within the many great companies here in our Great Lakes Region.”
“This is the best time to explore careers in aviation,” said Pam Catlin, American Airlines Captain and WACS team member, “The industry, particularly the airlines, need team members across the board, not just pilots. Only 7% of pilots and 2.7% of mechanics are women- we are working to increase those numbers by encouraging women to pursue their dreams but also to make the goal be their journey.”
The Women’s Aviation Career Symposium is an event designed to advance women in aerospace careers and help alleviate the industry-wide pilot and mechanic shortage through promoting local companies and career opportunities in the Great Lakes Region. For additional information and to become involved contact wacsmichigan@gmail.com.
