Trinity High School Seniors Timberly Gardner and Giana Sasselli will both be majoring in the aviation industry after high school. Aviation is a growing industry for women, and many stereotypes of women becoming pilots and having other careers in the field are being broken.
Gardner will be majoring in professional flight and minoring in air traffic control. She will be attending Embry Riddle Aeronautical University for the next four years.
Sasselli will be majoring in aeronautical science and will be minoring in aviation safety. She will be studying at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. She will be studying four years for her bachelor’s degree and an additional two to three years for her master’s degree.
Both girls knew from a young age that they wanted to be in this field. Gardner knew from around age nine because she had grown up around it.
Gardner said, “My dad got me into flying. He flew when he was younger and he now works as an air traffic controller.”
Sasselli knew from around age ten or eleven. She had always thought it would be fun to travel as a job.
Sasselli said, “I have had a lot of traveling to do for hockey over the years, and in that time I have learned a lot about planes.”
Gardner started flying lessons in May of 2023 and flies about eight hours per week out of Washington County airport. This hard work will pay off when she earns her pilot’s license this June. Sasselli took intro to flight lessons in April of 2023, but she does not take flying lessons.
To prepare for this profession, Sasselli says, “Put yourself under a stressful situation because it is the best way to grow.”
Best wishes to both young women as they pursue a career in this exciting field.
