Introducing me! (Pre-college)

Hey y'all, for my first blog post, I am going to introduce myself! My name is Jacquelyn Emery, and I am a female aviator from Lago Vista, Texas. I grew up in Littleton, Colorado, and moved to Texas when I was 11. Throughout my life, my parents have been avid supporters in getting me involved in the aviation industry. They were both flight attendants for Continental Airlines, and now work for United Airlines doing international flights out of San Francisco. Throughout my childhood, I was always mesmerized with aviation and DIA felt like a second home to me. One thing I rarely saw during my traveling was a female pilot, so I never knew that I could pursue this career. My love for flying started when my dad bought my mom and I a discovery flight for Christmas. Being in the air felt so freeing, and seeing my town from above is an experience I'll never forget. My first flight was in a Cessna 172, and I never would have guessed that I would come back to this exact airport in two years to receive my PPL.

After this flight, I knew I wanted to pursue aviation. My parents started asking pilots on their flights where the best schools were, and time after time those pilots responded "UND". After living in the south for years, the thought of moving somewhere cold terrified me. During my college tour, it got cancelled halfway through because a blizzard blew into town. Despite the weather, I fell in love with this school the second I saw it. UND has one of the largest non-commercial fleets of aircraft, and I knew I wanted to go here despite the weather.

My plan was to start my training once I started school, but I received a scholarship in high school to train for my PPL. This scholarship was amazing, but it really showed me how hard aviation is. I was going to practice in the morning, high school all day, then commuting two hours round trip to the airport where I was doing my training. I would leave my house at 7am, and my mom would hand me lunch and dinner on the way out because I wouldn't be back until 11pm. My parents sacrificed so much of the last year I was home with them to let me pursue my dream, and I am forever grateful. Coming to college, my brother got married the day before. This was one of the last times my family was all together, and then my parents dropped me off at school the next day. Being alone in a new state knowing no one was terrifying, but it has been one of the best decisions I've ever made.

That's the story of how a small town Texas girl ended up in North Dakota pursuing her dream and flying airplanes every day. Next time, I'll update y'all on my training at UND. Thanks for reading, and be sure to subscribe at the bottom of the page!