AIR BORN 2.4

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Dear Reader,

Have you ever been asked to mentor someone, or maybe wanted someone to mentor you? What is mentorship is and what isn’t it?
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Perhaps one of the lingering benefits of this disrupted period we are living in is that we are more eager to support each other, more committed to collaboration over competition, and more curious about each others’ differences and similarities.
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The time is right for women everywhere to evolve their passions into their own unique expressions of careers and lifestyles unrestricted by traditions, glass ceilings or any other limitations.
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Perhaps someone allowed you the space to dream by saying “Hey kid, you can do this!”. Imagine passing that on or creating it for the very first time for someone else. Recall the mentor, contrived or accidental, that changed your life by asking you the questions that set off a whole new direction. Imagine if we can continue to grow a culture of mentorship that provides psychological safety for girls and women everywhere.
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I am so inspired by what we can become together. This assures me that the conversations we're having are necessary at a global level. Women are wrestling with similar issues from confidence, alignment, networking, access and speaking out- similar experiences all over the planet. I love that it's not just you and me!
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Right, let's dive into our latest episode and more. Thank you so much again for being part of this community!

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This Week

This week I talk to Olga Custodio about finding success in a male-dominated profession, balancing family and professional life when pursuing career goals, why accessibility is the key to mentorship, and sacrificing for success.
​Episode 053: Sacrificing for Success and Setting Priorities with Olga Custodio - First Female Hispanic U.S. Military Pilot
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Retired Lieutenant Colonel Olga Custodio didn’t give up on her dream of serving her country when she was repeatedly blocked from enlisting in the military. Ten years after her first attempted she was finally accepted into the US Air Force, becoming the first Latina to complete graining in the U.S. Air Force as a military pilot. She also became the first Hispanic female pilot at American Airlines flying domestic and international routes retiring as a Captain after 20 years with American Airlines. She reflects on instructing and flying the supersonic T-38.
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While breaking barriers and overcoming challenges as a woman in a male-dominated profession throughout her career, Olga has gained valuable insights that she shares in this conversation and to her wider audiences. Olga is a consummate mentor. A mentor for mentors. She is a generous and supportive advocate for girls, inspiring and empowering students - especially those from underserved communities and middle-schoolers - to pursue careers in STEM generally and aviation / aerospace specifically. We also talk about Olga’s love for Hispanic arts and cultural heritage, the Ballet Folklorico Borikèn, (The Puerto Rican Folk Ballet ), the mantra “where there is a will, there is power”, and so much more.
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Olga Custodio is a former United States Air Force officer who became the first female Hispanic U.S. military pilot. Upon retiring from the military, she became the first female Hispanic commercial airline captain of American Airlines. Olga is a Trustee of the Order of Daedalians Foundation, a Board Member and Treasurer for the Women in Aviation Alamo City Chapter, and a Board Member for the Dee Howard Foundation. Custodio also serves as vice president of the Hispanic Association of Aviation and Aerospace Professionals (HAAAP). These organizations inspire young students in the San Antonio and surrounding areas to seek civilian and military aviation careers.

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Encore Episode

I love the opportunity to drop in a juxtaposition with an archive interview to raise new questions and make new connections. We have an abundance of conversations with mentors and women both wise and experienced that share their stories and are willing to put their truth into the world and support others to do the same. They are lights that can guide us. The theme of mentorship returns consistently. This week, let’s revisit Episode 003: Growth & Wisdom with Enid Otun - First Female Chief Pilot in Nigeria. Enid Otun and I talked over a year ago as one of my first recorded conversations! Although I plug my ears and cringe at my greenness, it is a blast to re-listen to this episode and remember the feeling I first had when hearing Enid’s story – and still do. It is fascinating.
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I was introduced to Enid on her own podcast, If Women Were Meant To Fly, The Sky Would Be Pink, through a simple google search of women-pilots-podcasters. Let's just say, there are not many of us out there! The episode is a gift, it is an inspirational, moving, and funny memoir about her backstory and becoming the first female chief pilot in Nigeria. Enid overcame shocking trauma during her childhood in Lagos which impacted enormously and took years to unpack. We have a heartfelt and honest conversation about being bold and refusing to be a victim, post-traumatic growth and resilience, reading Russian classics, being a role model and finding new norms through new seasons of life.
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I will always be grateful to Enid for having the belief in me and this podcast project enough to be one of my first guests before anything was published for credibility. Thank you Enid and keep sharing! You have inspired me more than you know.
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Enid is a Black lesbian now living with her wife and daughter in Norwich, UK, and working as a Senior Datalink Engineer at Collins Aerospace. Connect with Enid on Instagram: @pinkskypodcast​
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Uplifting Women in the Male-dominated Spaces

Our news flash for this week is for all those music lovers out there. In a historic move, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has named French-born Nathalie Stutzmann as the fifth music director in the orchestra’s history. Stutzmann becomes only the second woman to lead a major American symphony, and the only current female music director. She will be the first woman to serve as the ASO’s music director and only the second woman in history to lead a major American orchestra.
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NY Times: Stutzmann said she hoped her selection would inspire other orchestras to appoint women.
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What does mentorship mean to you?

The best mentors are good listeners, good questioners, and good strategic thinkers. Poor mentors think they know all the answers and respond to any issue with specific advice as to how their mentee should behave. Good mentors know their limitations and are frank about them, but they also know how to reach out to others who may be better suited to deal with a particular issue faced by the mentee. Mentoring is a cooperative partnership that works best if there is candor and honesty on both sides. Mentors should be cheerleaders for their mentees—providing encouragement, reassurance, and positive suggestions.

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What do you want to hear more of? Email me at hello@whenwomenfly.com​

Be bold. Be brave. And FLY!

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See you next time,

Sylvia Winter, Founder & Podcast Host of When Women Fly

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