Another update from Rachel, An Advanced Rating Scholarship Winner!

This is the third journal entry provided to us by Rachel Borsa, who was selected for an Advanced Training Scholarship within The Girls With Wings 2014 Scholarship Program to help defray the cost of flight training lessons in pursuit of an Advanced Rating or Certificate such as instrument rating, commercial pilot certificate, flight instructor certificate, instrument flight instructor certificate, multi-engine rating or multi-engine flight instructor certificate. This new scholarship award is in the amount of $1000, funded by the generous donations from supporters of Girls With Wings, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Rachel's application essay is published here, her first update here and her second update here.

Girls With Wings Final Essay
07/30/2014
Hi everyone!
This last month has been crazy busy. Earlier, in June, I participated in the Women’s Air Race Classic. It was absolutely amazing and some of the most stressful flying I have ever done. I was the captain this year, and another girl in my year was the co-pilot. As it was my second year, I kind of knew what I was doing, but you never really know what to expect when racing across the country against 50 other all female teams!

Being back together with the racers was such a joy. It’s amazing how everyone in the Air Race has an instant connection because we all love aviation. The women who fly them are incredible and such an inspiration. The best part of the Race is reuniting with all of them for a week of fun competition.

The weather, however, had other ideas. We ended up going iced in in Elko, Nevada. When I say iced in, I mean we couldn’t open the doors to the airplane! And it was June! It snowed a little bit in Pinedale, Wyoming. We got in right before some thunderstorms in Iowa City and ended up getting stuck in Athens, Ohio waiting for more thunderstorms to pass. Unfortunately, we didn’t finish the race on time, but we made it in that night. All of our friends came and met us on the ramp when we landed, which made the whole trip worth it. We might not have won, but we sure did make some friends that will last a lifetime.

Girls with Wings is like the Air Race Classic. We are all trying to do the same thing, encourage women to keep flying. We have been doing it for a long time, even though sometimes, we aren’t recognized for it. If flying is your passion, then never stop. If you think flying could be your passion, then take a lesson! There is nothing better than being able to take off and land, wherever you want.

While I was landing at Athens, Ohio I thought about how natural it is for me to land an airplane. I don’t even think about it anymore, it’s just what I do, like driving a car. And I thought to myself, HOW COOL IS THIS? How many people can land an airplane? How many people would rather fly themselves than drive themselves? When we find those people, we embrace them, because they are a kindred spirit.

I hope to continue to be a role model through Girls With Wings. Even though it will no longer be a formal organization in the future, I will always be here to talk about flying, college, and life in the future. Please do not hesitate to ask questions about flying (I am a CFI/CFII), about majoring in flight, or post-grad employment. I am a woman aviator and am here to stay. Look for me on the flight deck in years to come.