In another example of how jobs don’t have genders, United Airlines recently welcomed a group of young girls from the Boys & Girls Club of Newark for Girls in Aviation Day at Newark Liberty International Airport to learn about careers in the profession.
Women leaders and professionals from United took the girls on an airport tour that included the operations center, an aircraft hangar and onboard an aircraft itself.
The highlight may have been meeting Boeing 787 First Officer Natasha Nesemann, who — at 27 — is among the youngest women in the country to pilot a 787.
Nesemann spent the day with the girls answering their questions while encouraging them to pursue careers in aviation.
Nesemann said she may have gotten as much out of the day as the girls.
“Girls in Aviation Day at EWR was truly amazing,” she said. “It’s a great feeling to be able to share my love and passion for aviation with the next generation of women aviators.
“It was even more special that I got to bring my mentee, Amaya Almodovar, along and see her eyes light up at every turn of the day.”
Women in Aviation International, a nonprofit dedicated to encourage and advance women in all aviation and aerospace career fields, started Girls in Aviation Day in 2015 to give young women the chance to learn and explore the industry.
As an active community partner with WAI, United Airlines and uIMPACT, the women’s business resource group for the airline, is hosting events for young girls with an interest in aviation across its hubs, starting in Newark.
United, which has been hosting events since 2016 (except for 2020 due to COVID-19) is eager to continue the program.
Nesemann said she’s eager to be a part of it moving forward.
“I think it’s so special for little girls to see with their own eyes everything that they’re capable of,” she said.
