I have dreamt of becoming a pilot since the age of six. I still have a picture of me dressed as an airline captain one year for halloween. Being so young, I didn't really know why I was so fascinated by airplanes or why I wanted to fly them. After my parents divorce, my mom eventually remarried. Lucky for me, my new step dad was a pilot. He flew both commercially and instructed at the local airport. This was ultimately my foot in the door to aviation. He has helped me understand the basics of flight, and took me on joy rides. When applying for college, 3 majors ran around my head. I ultimately chose aeronautics because I believe that passion is success. I applied and am now studying at the #1 school for flight, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. I also joined AFROTC, in hopes to fly/serve in the Air Force. Being a women, not only in aviation but also in the military is a big deal. For so long, men have dominated these industries making it hard for women to shine. For example, I go to an aviation school that is 80% men and 20% women. Not to mention only 3.4% of pilots in the U.S. are women. Being a part of this degree program is important to me because it gives opportunity to make a change. These statistics alone shows the lack of diversity in the field. I hope to set an example and prove to other little girls like my younger self that stereotypes shouldn't determine your dreams. Your passions should do that. I want to be able to normalize women in aviation and encourage a more even statistic. I hope to do this one day on a larger platform by creating women flight programs and scholarships like this one. Imagine the increase of interest if there were women specific flight schools. I would hope it would be a place where women can explore the flight industry and build relationships without fear or doubts of feeling unwelcome. I also hope to create scholarships for other women like myself in the future. Doing so can encourage and support their dreams. I believe that nothing (gender, race, religion etc.) should get in the way of someone chasing their passion, because after all the skies the limit.