An update from Lauren, GWW Dreams Take Flight Scholarship Winner!

This is the first journal entry provided to us by Lauren Prox, who was selected for a Dreams Take Flight Scholarship from Girls With Wings. The Girls With Wings 2014 Scholarship Program includes the Dreams Take Flight Scholarship was designed to introduce the world of aviation to someone who would benefit from experiencing the joy of flight. This scholarship is intended to fund introductory flight training to encourage achievement of a stated goal, whether in aviation or in another field of study.  There is no prerequisite flight training required for this scholarship, just enthusiasm and the desire to learn.  The Dreams Take Flight Scholarship is in the amount of $500.00, funded by the generous donations from supporters of Girls With Wings, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Lauren's application essay is published here.


After a week full of thunderstorms, I eventually got to go flying. Thankfully the weather was beautiful. I decided to fly with a new, local flight school called Freedom Aviation. This flight school is actually just a few buildings over from my aviation high school; which made it my first choice. My flight instructor, Corey, was amazing. Along with instructing me, he also gave me advice on excelling in my upcoming aviation contest. I have to admit that I was a little nervous about taking control of the aircraft because of the unfamiliar course we were taking. Once I did take control of the plane and started heading back towards the airport, another plane declared an in-flight emergency. This incident sent us outside of the Class D airspace, and allowed us to get some more sightseeing done. I was able to gaze along the James River and saw several large ships, bridges, and even Water Country USA. 

When the plane in distress landed, we were able to safely return back to the flight school. I was then rewarded with a freshly-made, chocolate chip cookie for doing so well. I had a great time flying with Corey and I can’t wait to get up in the air again. Before my flight, I never realized just how familiar I was with the field of aviation. For example, after taking an ATC course for an entire school year, I can now keep up with the expeditious speed of the Air Traffic Controllers. I have my wonderful teacher Mr. Lamanque to thank for that.

Essays about flight training from the other awardees will be published here as they are received.