Samantha Blackburn
Three months ago, Samantha Blackburn, an 18-year-old senior at Owensboro High School, was a declared accounting major at the University of Kentucky. But after crossing off “flying a plane” from her bucket list in January when she began private flying lessons at Tri-State Aero in Evansville, Samantha changed her mind. With a little research, Samantha found the fixed-wing aviation program at University of North Dakota and she decided to take a risk.
That’s right. After just one flying lesson, Samantha decided to change her entire future. “A lot of people from Kentucky stay in Kentucky, but I decided to take a risk,” Samantha said. Now after graduation this month, Samantha will prepare for a move to North Dakota, 16 hours and over 1,000 miles away.
Not only is Samantha brave, but according to guidance counselor Jane Prince, she is “a little more mature than others, dependable and adult-like.” Ms. Prince says that Samantha has challenged herself in the most rigorous courses and does not need explanation when asked to do something. “It’s just done,” Ms. Prince said.
Ms. Prince said Samantha was a clear choice for the graduation feature of Owensboro Parent. Her bravery and willingness to pursue a dream set her apart. “How many females do you know who going into aviation? Who already fly planes?” Ms. Prince said.
The answer? Not many. Women make up about 5 percent of the 53,000 members of the Air Line Pilots Association, and only .008 percent of those total members are female pilots, like Samantha plans to be. This reflects in the aviation program Samantha plans to attend in North Dakota, where the female to male ratio in her major is 1:100.
Samantha remains unshaken by these statistics, as her love for airplanes runs deep. Her father is active duty in the U.S. Air Force. In fact, he is serving in his seventh deployment to Afghanistan over the last seven years. “If it hadn’t been for him in the air force, I would never have looked into aviation,” Samantha admits.
As an only child with one parent serving in the air force, Samantha says life has been hard. “It’s just me and my mom so we depend a lot on each other,” Samantha says. Despite being on the other side of the world, Samantha says her father remains involved in her life. They email frequently and talk on the phone once a month. He was even able to “walk,” or rather roll (on a displayed laptop), with his daughter down the OHS gym floor during senior night for the dance team.
Samantha’s words of advice for other high school students? “Get involved. And try everything once.” She has certainly embodied this philosophy by taking a bucket list milestone and planning her future around it.
“She’s so impressive,” Ms. Prince said. “She’s actually doing it, not just talking about it.”