Young Women Can Learn from Various Mentors at AirVenture

By Maria Morrison

According to the FAA’s 2017 study, women make up about 7% of pilots in American general aviation. EAA’s “Women Soar You Soar” camp is working to change that. The Women Soar camp, run by chairman Debby Rhin-Harvey, is a day camp for high school girls ages 14-18. It began years ago as a one-day camp and has since grown to four, with 70 girls participating this year. These girls have the opportunity to work with female mentors from all corners of the aviation community, attend seminars and workshops to discover possible career options and, of course, experience all the wonderful things at AirVenture. Their Oshkosh experience includes touring the control tower, watching STOL competitions, and flying in the Ford Tri-Motor.

The group this year, which Rhin-Harvey described as “very engaged and excited,” comes from 25 states and two countries. Many of the girls’ parents accompany them and attend AirVenture, but not all come from flying families. “We’d like to be able to bring more diversity into the camp,” said Rhin-Harvey, “Our emphasis is to empower, to educate as to the diversity of the aviation world, and to teach girls to believe in themselves.” The assigned mentors, in a 1:4 ratio, keep up with the young women after the camp, providing valuable networking for those who choose to enter an aviation field.

Their matching shirts bear the slogan “Don’t just fly, soar.” These girls are taught to “not just discover, but find solutions” to issues within the aviation community. They can choose from four workshop options each day in which they learn from women in commercial, military, and recreational aviation, as well as past air traffic controllers, engineers, and more.

There are 100 slots available next year, all only $125 each, which includes four days of admission to AirVenture. Rhin-Harvey is hopeful that more prospective female aviators will join the camp and experience what the world of aviation has to offer.

FMI: https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-education-and-resources/eaa-youth-education/eaa-aviation-and-flight-summer-camps/eaa-women-soar-you-soar