By Abigail Oleniczak, EAA 1157455
I have been attending EAA AirVenture Oshkosh for the last four years and have loved every minute of it. It wasn’t until last year, however, that I found out about Women Soar You Soar. I knew I would benefit from such a camp.
I applied this year and was accepted for the four-day program. I was very excited to learn all about career options and scholarships, and to meet new people. Before the camp started, I was leaning toward becoming a civilian flight nurse. However, my dream for my future has changed. My assigned mentors, Nancy Lawrence and Lydia Kamps, were really engaging and wanted to impact my future. They really made me think. When they didn’t have an answer or suggestion, they would find another mentor who was eager to help as well.
I really enjoyed sitting in all the Super Cubs in the Ultralights area when touring the AirVenture grounds on Monday morning with my group. Sitting in the aircraft, and even just talking to lots of pilots, makes me determined to become a pilot myself. I really believe now that I can do anything.
On Tuesday morning, I was one of the 20 lucky girls who received a ticket for a seaplane ride! That was the highlight of the camp for me. Even though I had to wake up at 5:30 a.m., it was worth it. When they asked who wanted to be copilot, my hand shot up like a jet. Because I was so eager, I got the lucky seat, and four other girls were in the back of the 1939 amphibian.
We took off of Wittman Regional Airport’s Runway 27 heading west and away we went. Before we knew it, we were over Lake Winnebago. I asked, Mike, our pilot, what it was going to be like landing on the water. He said, “You will love the feeling!” Moments later we landed on the lake. The feeling was truly unique. After a moment, he turned off the engine, and we all climbed out the front of the airplane through a small hatch and stood on top of Goose. The girls and I wondered, are we in a dream? This is unreal. But no, we were in the middle of Lake Winnebago on top of an amphibian taking photos. What an outstanding experience!
Later that day, I walked around Aviation Gateway Park with my mentor group. We asked questions at one of the universities and my group left and didn’t realize that I was still there. It’s hard to stay together when there are so many interesting things to learn and experience.
The next day, we were walking in our group, and I stood and watched the booming fighter jets soar across the sky. A few moments later, Lydia and Nancy again had to tell me to stick with the group. I was very distracted; I couldn’t help but to look at all the airplanes.
I am going to miss my mentors and all the friends I made. I really loved the encouragement from the mentors, and as a result, I am very motivated to apply for scholarships and start ground school to become a private pilot. Because my new friends and I had so much in common, we met up again later in the week. I am anticipating returning to camp next year.
Abigail Oleniczak, 15, attended Women Soar You Soar for the first time at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018.