Smart Girl Pilot Shaesta Waiz is Flying Around the World to Promote STEM
Born in a refugee camp and escaping with her family to the United States in 1987 from Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan War, Shaesta grew up to become the first certified civilian female pilot from Afghanistan. In addition, she was also the first person in her family to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree from attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
While enrolled at Embry-Riddle, she spearheaded something called the Women’s Ambassador Program. It was an initiative intending to mentor and support young women pursuing an education in aviation and engineering. She later would found the organization Dreams Soar to reach even more women around the world and “let them know it is possible to achieve your dreams, regardless of the challenges and traditions you may face.”
According to the Dreams Soar site, their mission is “to partner with strong female role models at the 28 stops along the route and together, share and promote the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education.” She and these other leaders on her route wanting to encourage young girls, especially minorities, will be leading these STEM workshops to help eliminate any of the intimidation girls may feel about the aviation or aeronautics fields as well as the rest of STEM.
Shaesta told WOSU Radio:
“These are all the fields that I was just terribly afraid of as a kid. It wasn’t until I found aviation that I started to understand STEM. And I realized it’s really not that scary, especially if you find your way in with something you’re passionate about.”
On May 13th, Shaesta began her journey leaving Daytona Beach, Florida and making her first stop in Columbus Ohio. This first destination was her tribute to Jerrie Mock, the first woman to fly solo around the world who also began her trip in Columbus back in 1964.
Dreams Soar site states, “the number of women in the aviation field today is staggeringly low, and one of the reasons — according to the Teaching Women to Fly Research Project — is that “Girls need to see living aviation female role models.” Once again driving home how important it is for all Smart Girls to be able to see ourselves and our ambitions adequately represented, as the Geena Davis Insitute on Gender in Media always reminds us “if she can see it, she can be it.”
Check out the map of Shaesta’s route stops here! Update: This October, Shaesta completed her solo global flight, becoming the youngest woman to complete a solo trip around the world in a single engine aircraft.
