Kam, the 2009 Girls With Wings Scholarship Winner

Kam's winning Scholarship application essay:

Thank you for taking the time to read my application essay. My name is Kam.
I am a private pilot student and a stay-at-home mom of two daughters in
Seattle, Washington. I started ground school in June 2009 and completed
my first solo flight in September. I have forty hours of flight time and have
passed my Stage One Check-ride.

I am grateful for finding Girls With Wings early in my training. GWW member
stories motivate and boost my confidence. Women have been flying since the
beginning days of aviation, yet it is still a challenge for us to establish our
place as pilots. GWW provides the moral support and understanding every
female pilot needs in our trailblazing. It warms my heart whenever I hear a
female air traffic controller and female pilot conversing on the radio, and I can’
t help but think that this needs to occur more regularly! I want to hear more
female voices over the frequencies. A common vein among female pilots is
our stubbornness. I gain tremendously from other pilots’ experiences and
their insights convince me of the importance of sharing my own trials for
others to connect with. As a Chinese-American female in the world of
aviation, I am a minority within a minority group. I accept my added challenge
as an invitation to demonstrate perseveres.

The Sources of My Interest
I immigrated to Seattle from Hong Kong when I was 10 years old. In Hong
Kong, we lived next to the old Kai Tak International Airport. Riding bikes at
the local park meant watching commercial jets fly right over our heads. I
never guessed that I would one day FLY a plane.

During my teen years, my interest in space science began. I dreamt of
becoming an astronaut on the first space colony. I stayed up in the middle of
the night to watch NASA TV, engrossed in the chatter between the space
shuttle crew and mission control. All through middle and high school I wanted
to be an astronaut. I read every space and astronomy books our library had
to offer. As I struggled to learn English and American culture, my teachers
and librarians encouraged my love for space. I will be forever grateful for their
support. In hindsight, I can understand and appreciate the influences positive
adults can have on young adults. Regrettably, when it came time to choose a
college and career route, I did not believe in myself. I was intimated by the
“old boys club” of aviation. I was too scared to pursue my dream of flight.

While I shied away from technical fields, I retained my love for space. I had to
find ways to keep myself as close to aerospace as possible. Instead of flying,
I worked at Seattle’s Museum of Flight and later at The University of
Washington, Bothell, teaching aerospace science to K-12 students. I excelled
at teaching. I found joy in stimulating young minds with science. My co-
workers were space and aviation enthusiasts, and I felt at home. Working
right next to an airfield was a wonderful learning experience and convinced
me that aviation is in my bones. There was a piece of myself that I was too
afraid to take on. I wanted to fly. I needed to fly. I kept telling myself
someday I would have the courage to fly. Someday.

After ten years full of Somedays, it took one pilot’s words to push me
forward. I went to a local Memorial Day warbird fly-in. One friendly pilot
invited my daughter to sit in the cockpit. I mentioned to him that “someday”
I would get my private license. The pilot looked me kindly in the eyes and said
“Just do it. You’ll never regret getting your license too early. Only that you
didn’t get it soon enough.” And that was the wake-up call I needed to
actualize my long-range plans.

The next day, I visited a flight school and I was in ground school the
following week. I want to find and thank that kind gentleman at next year’s
fly-in. He told me the words I needed to hear right when I needed it.
Sometime it takes the encouragement of a stranger to start you on the road
of a lifelong dream. I will cherish his belief in me and pass on that same sense
of support to aspiring pilots.

Breaking Barriers
Since starting my training, I have already flown several girls from my
daughter’s kindergarten class as passengers. It is an honor to show the girls
a female role-model in aviation and that learning never stops! Even a MOM
can be a student. Having two young daughters is a constant reminder for me
to lead by example and truly become a person of strength. I strive to live my
life with integrity and respect toward myself as a woman.

Many women of my generation were raised with the idea that we can be as
good as men. Girls like me learned to resent our female identity and were
encouraged to act like boys to prove intelligence and valor. Baseball caps,
baggy t-shirts, and being a tomboy was the first rung of the ladder in
achieving strength. We subscribed to the idea that we must act as boys do,
to be accepted in male dominated arenas. I no longer believe that method is
effective in helping girls grow into whole people. I strongly believe that girls
should not limit themselves to emulate males and disregard their feminine
side. Just as I am an Asian American, I cannot choose to be Asian or
American. I am both and cannot be separated. Picking sides and ignoring half
of my uniqueness only causes pain and disillusion. The same goes for girls in
male dominated technical society. The assimilation method is not the
solution, acceptance of self-identity and community support are the pillars
girls need success. The love of oneself and pride in our gender is what I will
forever strive to help young women see in themselves. That is my drive and
the conviction behind all my work as a mentor.

On a daily basis, I feel the bias and barriers imposed on me, as an immigrant
to the United States, as a person of color, and as a woman. Female are
underrepresented in the aviation world. There are even fewer Asian American
women in flight. I feel it my duty to be a role model to girls of any color to
break that stereotype and successfully fly. I can serve well as a visible
example for minority girls and for people of any colors to see an Asian
woman flying. I want our girls to know that they are not alone in their
struggles. There are few women of any color in the aviation field. This gap in
the population needs to change and by becoming a pilot I have already
contributed to that change.

Financial Need
I love flying more than I had expected. I fly less frequently now due to
financial constraints. When I am not flying, it’s like having an itch that I can’t
scratch.

I saved up several years for flight school, but life always takes unexpected
turns. Two difficulties arose during the middle of my training. First, like so
many during this economic downturn, my father is unable to find work. My
brothers and I are supporting my parents during this time. While it is a huge
strain on all of us, my siblings and I are united in our efforts to see our
parents through this unfortunate situation.

My second hardship is the formidable landing and flaring training. I worked
diligently and wholeheartedly three times a week, for one month on landings.
I bounced the plane so violently at times that I was sure I punched through
the firewall with the front landing gear. I devoted at least 15 extra flight
hours purely in the pattern, patiently learning the complexity of landing. I
have no problem with my delayed progress, as many pilots assured me that
landing is one of the hardest set of skills to learn. However, the hours of
drills depleted my tuition. I spent over three thousand dollars beyond my
reserved savings. As of now, I am unable to continue my cross-country,
short field, and soft field units. My current financial barriers only reconfirmed
my commitment and love for flying. Leaving flight school was never an option
in my mind. I will do whatever it takes to stay on track. With the Girls With
Wings Scholarship I will be able to further my training and be hours closer to
my license.

Community Involvement
I recently joined The Ninety-Nines. I felt a surge of energy and empowerment
being in a room with 50 other female pilots. I’ve taken up an active role in
participating in their fundraising and community outreach efforts. In the past
few months, as I network with more pilots, I am overwhelmed by the
generous camaraderie. I was immersed in the strong sense of community
from all the pilots I met.

I would make a good role model because I have experience working with
young people. My various jobs in the past ten years have been with science
education outreach. Ranging from leading simulated space mission in The
Museum of Flight’s Challenger Learning Center, to giving tours during the
Blue Angels’ annual Seattle air show, to organizing one hundred 5 and 6th-
grade students in designing a Mars colony at the University of Washington,
Bothell. I have over a decade of creative aerospace informal education
programming and I will include Girls with Wings as another component of my
outreach efforts.

I am becoming active member on the GWW message boards. I will continue
sharing my flight related experience on the GWW message board to inspire
and support more women. We live in a time when technology can serve as a
medium for communities that is not bounded by our geographical locations.
Women aviators fight hard won battles, and we should share the knowledge
for the women who came before us by utilizing GWW website. I also hope to
contribute games and articles to the Penelope’s Page in the near future.
Sharing words online is one way to connect with fellow pilots, but we can
never do away with face-to-face time. I can become a strong Seattle area
member for Girls with Wings. I have helped facilitate a local Women Fly event
at the Museum of Flight in 2004 and 2006. I plan to volunteer for the event
again in 2010. In time I want to do presentations to local groups as a Girls
With Wings representative. I look forward to connecting with other GWW
members in the Seattle area. I can give flights, by following in the steps of
fellow GWW member Amy McMaster taking Madeleine and her family up in the
air. I look forward to the friendship with other Washington GWW members.

How flying has changed me:
Becoming a pilot has given me a very strong incentive stay healthy to keep
that medical certificate! I have a family history of diabetes and I finally took
an active role keeping my body healthy. After the completion of ground
school, I started running to help fight off the disease. I ran my first 5K race
this August and already signed up for a half marathon for next spring. While
my whole life is infused with aviation, flying has inspired me to improve other
aspects of my lifestyle.

My goal is to complete my private license by the summer of 2010. I originally
planned only a private license, but my curiosity is propelling me toward
achieving IFR within the next five years. I will take my daughters on
numerous trips in the Pacific Northwest. After getting my instrument rating, I
will begin planning a two week long multi-state trip with my daughters. I want
to explore different places and share that experience with my girls.

My intention is to stay with general aviation flying, but I won’t limit myself if
the right opportunity presents itself. My professional goal is to develop
regulations for the approaching space tourism industry. My love for space
travel is strong and I am no longer afraid of placing my career goals in a field
I truly believe in. Flight lessons gave me the courage I was seeking. If I can
land a plane, I can do anything. Flying has given me an insider perspective on
the effects and consequences of regulations. Space travelers will increase in
number and responsible tourism practices should extend to and beyond
orbit. Mass space tourism may seem far-fetched and a subject of science-
fiction, but then only a century ago large scale trans-oceanic passenger
flights also sounded implausible.

Thank you for taking the time to review my appeal. Please feel free to contact
me via email if you have any questions. I look forward to hearing from you.