SFA aviation program helps more women take flight during Women’s History Month
During Women’s History Month, East Texas women are being recognized for breaking barriers in fields where they have long been underrepresented, including aviation.
At Stephen F. Austin State University, a program is helping to change the game by encouraging more women to pursue careers in the sky.
For decades, aviation has been a male-dominated industry. Nationally, women make up about 5 percent of pilots, according to industry data. But SFA leaders say they are starting to see significant progress.
“It’s about 160 students total, about 25 percent of whom are women,” said Allen Wilson, director of SFA’s aviation program. “So it’s somewhere in the mid to high 30s that we have.”
Wilson says seeing more young women participate in the program has been particularly meaningful.
“I have two daughters,” he said. “To see young women getting involved in a historically male-dominated program – it’s just fun to watch and great to see.”
For Amelia Beam, being a woman in aviation has never been a limitation.
“I never considered myself a woman in aviation,” Beam said. “I considered myself a pilot. It was never really an obstacle for me.”
Beam is vice president of NIFA, a competitive learning organization that helps aviation students gain real-world experience beyond the classroom. She says representation matters – and sometimes change happens faster than expected.
“That barrier was broken for me in just one day,” Beam said. “And I would like to make sure that everyone knows that you can be a pilot, just like anyone else can be a pilot.”
This momentum is already visible. Recent SFA graduate Kaley King made history as the first female Flying Jack to become a certified flight instructor.
“When I started here four years ago, there was only four of us,” King said. “Every year it doubles. So if we have 25 women here today, we’ll have 50 next year.”
King hopes her success will encourage other women to follow the same path.
“I hope this reaches other women,” she said. “I hope they see this and think, ‘She became a pilot, so I can too.'”
Teachers and students agree that progress comes not from comparison, but from confidence.
“As long as you don’t try to compare yourself to others, you will succeed,” said one student. “You do it for yourself, not to prove something to anyone else.”
Although the “glass ceiling” in aviation has not entirely disappeared, more and more women at SFA are working to break through it and are helping to chart a new path for the next generation of pilots.
