Marywood University celebrates Women of Aviation Week

Sydney Kostus
·2 min read

AVOCA, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— It’s Women of Aviation Week, an annual event that aims to encourage and inspire more women to pursue careers in the sky.

28/22 News Reporter Sydney Kostus was live at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport Wednesday morning with a special group of women we’re highlighting this week.

Flying a plane is no easy feat, but for this group of Marywood University Students, it’s just another day.

“We go up, we have a blast, we come down and then we go to class. Like I fly in the morning and then I go to accounting,” said Megan Buckley, a pilot program student at Marywood University.

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Bringing their career to new heights, these ladies are freshmen students in the university’s pilot program where they take to the sky, literally at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.

“This is a piper archer so this is actually a very new plane,” said Damaris Rivas, pilot program student at Marywood University. “It’s so nice, it’s so cool. It makes it so much easier for us as students to learn because it’s so much newer technology.”

This week marks Women in Aviation, raising awareness of the male-dominated industry with only around 6% of females in the field worldwide.

The airport’s flight school chief instructor Brad Snyder says they’re seeing a positive change.

“It’s increasing rapidly. It’s gone from about 5% female to almost 25% in the program up here,” Snyder told 28/22 News.

Remembering their first time in the sky.

“It was the coolest thing ever. It was a beautiful day, my dad was in the back seat, it was unforgettable,” added Samantha Thomas, a pilot program student at Marywood University.

This group shares the passion, driving them to the same ultimate goal.

“I love traveling, I wanted to be a flight attendant first, but after my first discovery flight I knew I had to be in the cockpit,” Kate Pallas, a pilot program student at Marywood University

Women of Aviation Week takes place during the first week of March, coinciding with the anniversary of the first female pilot’s license dating back to 1910.

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