TAMPA, Fla. — Flying high in the sky is where Olivia Silver likes to be. As a flight instructor for nearly six months, she is now one of the only female teachers where she works. She credits a scholarship for helping in making her dream a reality.
“I had a female instructor and she told me about the scholarship opportunity, and I applied for it,” Silver said. “I was able to have the opportunity of receiving it, which definitely helped me progress tremendously in my studies and my path to becoming a commercial pilot.”
That scholarship is thanks to the Betty Skelton scholarship fund, which is put together in part by the Tampa Bay Chapter of Women in Aviation, Tampa International Airport and other sponsors.
Beau Zimmer with Tampa International Airport explains its significance.
“This is all surrounding the anniversary of the nation's first all-women’s airshow, which was held nearly 80 years ago right here in the Tampa Bay area at Tampa's Peter O Night Airport on Davis Islands,” Zimmer said. “These all-female pilots, they weren't allowed to fly in other air shows, so they created their own. 13,000 people attended that air show. It really showed the Tampa Bay area what women were able to achieve up in the air.”
Friday TPA is hosting its annual GALA event, which stands for 'girls achieving leadership in aviation', on the same tarmac where the all-women’s airshow began. This year they’re also honoring retired NASA astronaut Nicole Stott.
“She’s a retired NASA astronaut who grew up flying in Pinellas County with her dad, went to St Pete College and then on to Embry Riddle and then got the ultimate job to get to fly on the space shuttle with NASA said she was also training people on the same planes that they were doing to land on the space station,” Zimmer said.
Stott is set to receive one of the airport’s highest honors, known as the Spirit of Flight Award. This year that award is named after Jane Davis Doggett, the woman responsible for creating the red and blue terminals you see at the airport. She also created the airport’s logo we know today. Doggett passed away last year at age 93.
“Jane Davis, Doggett and Nicole Stott met at that first event and became friends after meeting and I think this is going to be a big honor for Nicole Stott to receive this award, which has now been renamed in Jane Davis Doggett memory,” Zimmer said
The award will now be called the Jane Davis Doggett Spirit of Flight Award.
Olivia’s advice for other young women in her shoes is to go for it.
“It's just so motivating to go out there and see other people doing the same thing that you're doing and someone like you having the same goals,” Silver said. “We need more women out there raising that percentage up. I would definitely say go for it.”
The GALA will take place from 6 -9 p.m. at Peter O’ Knight Airport on Davis Islands. The event taking place Friday night is fitting as the first day of Women’s History Month.
Retired astronaut, Nicole Stott worked for NASA for 28 years. that included more than 100 days of living and working on a space shuttle and the International Space Station.