Page 13 - 2017-Issue3

NEWS & NOTES 13

In a time where air travel has become a
natural way to discover the globe, at first sight
nothing seems so special about a 29-year-old
woman who sets out to go on a round-the-
world trip.
This information becomes exceptional
when the details of the trip and the traveler are
revealed. The young woman is an aviator who
will take her seat in the cockpit of a 2001
Beechcraft Bonanza A36 and become the
youngest woman in history, and only the
second woman ever, to fly solo around the
world!
We met Captain Shaesta Waiz in Montreal,
her second of about 30 planned stops on 5
continents and 18 countries over 90 days,
where supporters and admirers from ICAO,
ACI, and IFALPA were invited to Stratos
Aviation to get to know this exceptional and
inspiring young captain and to wish her safe
travels and success for her mission.
Born in a refugee camp, Shaesta and her
family traveled from Afghanistan to the United
States in 1987 to escape the Soviet-Afghan war.
She grew up with her parents and five sisters in
Richmond, California.
She lived in an underserved school district
where substitute teachers, sharing textbooks
with classmates, and watching friends drop out
of high school was the norm.
After a long journey pursuing an education
in a non-traditional field, she became the first
female certified civilian pilot from Afghanistan
and the first person in her family to earn a
bachelor’s and a master’s degree — both from
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
She started Dreams Soar, a project (http://
dreamssoar.org) to share her story with women
around the world, to let them know it is
possible to achieve your dreams, regardless of
the challenges and traditional viewpoints you To learn more about Captain Shahesta Waiz and her project,
may face.
The Dreams Soar mission is to partner with please visit dreamssoar.org
strong female role models at every stop along
the route and together, share and promote the CHRISTOPH SCHEWE spent over 25 years in the field of air
importance of STEM (Science, Technology, transport in Germany; first in the Luftwaffe, then as Technical Director
Engineering, and Mathematics) education for
women and girls. of Vereinigung Cockpit/German ALPA, before assuming the position of
Once completed, Shaesta will have flown Managing Director of IFALPA in Montreal, Canada, in 2013.
over 25,000 miles, also demonstrating that
becoming a pilot is no question of gender. Photos
From the global pilot community: Fly safe, Far left and above here: Vanda D’Alonzo Photography
Shaesta, and keep following your dreams! Top right: Christoph Schewe

InterPilot | The Safety and Technical Journal of IFALPA ISSUE 3 | 2017