LEESBURG, Virginia — When Mia Anderson took her first discovery flight at 13 years old, she knew that she would one day become a pilot.
She was too young then for powered flight, so she began training with Skyline Soaring Club and soloed in a glider at age 15. She earned her private pilot certificate when she was 17 and now flies single engine aircraft along with gliders. Her goal is to fly commercially as a career and also continue flying in general aviation.
Mia says she understands that her success is, in part, due to positive mentors in her life, many of whom donated their time to help her achieve so much at a young age.
She was able to afford much of her training through the generosity of scholarships and programs that are targeted towards inspiring youth to pursue aviation. Mia was selected as a Ray Scholar, a flight training scholarship that helps young people earn their private pilot certificates.
Now that Mia is looking towards a career in aviation, she feels it is important to give back. She is passionate about inspiring young people, especially girls, to pursue aviation training and careers.
In 2024, Mia became a Pilot Mentor with STEM Flights, a youth aviation organization that provides free flights for middle and high school students all over the country. Mia currently holds the title of youngest volunteer pilot mentor in STEM Flights history, according to officials with the non-profit organization.
During a recent STEM Flight mission, Mia was paired with a young girl who had never flown in any type of aircraft before.
“I was once where you are now,” she told her. “I remember so clearly my first flight. I know you are nervous, but don’t worry, we are going to fly safe and have fun.”
They took off on Runway 35 at Leesburg Executive Airport (KJYO) in Virginia for a 45-minute flight over the Shenandoah Valley.
When they landed, her once timid and shy student was beaming with excitement.
“I was so nervous, but then I realized that it’s not scary at all. It was so cool to see how the airplane actually flies,” she said. “This is a day I will never forget!”
Mia donates as much time as she can to STEM Flights and other youth aviation programs at her airport, including her own non-profit Air Ambition, which she started to inspire young girls to fly.
Mia believes that giving back to public benefit flying is a great way to use her love of aviation to help others. She donates flight time to several nonprofit groups.
“Giving rides to kids is my all time favorite way to give back,” Mia notes. “I know that when you can get a kid up above their town and they can see how big this world truly is, they are forever changed. STEM Flights allows me to fly kids in my community and truly offer mentoring and guidance.”
STEM Flights is also funded by the Ray Foundation, highlighting the circle of support that exposes kids to aviation and then supports them through flight training.
For more information: STEMFlights.org
Yep, Kent. No sense in giving away scholarships in aviation, right? And true: The last balanced budget President was….Bill Clinton!
Mia is my granddaughter, what great photos and wonderful story❣️
Well done Mia! Getting more kids excited about Aviation and Aerospace careers is such a great first step. Giving back to an org that helps kids is a huge accomplishment. I’d like to volunteer for STEM Flights too.
Congratulations to this young woman as she begins her aviation career! Scholarships are a great way to widen our talent pool in aviation, but if the US is going to continue to compete globally in aviation, it would be best if we had a national-level effort to produce more pilots, mechanics, etc. Maybe something like the Civilian Pilot Training Program that trained more than 400,000 pilots 1939-1944; many went on to fly for the military during the war. It also created a large pool of fliers that helped fuel the heyday of general aviation after the war. If we’re going to be an aviation powerhouse, we need to invest in our aviation infrastructure, and that includes people too!
Agree Eileen! My grandma got her PPL via the Civilian Pilot Training Program 😊
All pilots, whether they are XY or XX, need to learn the costs associated with aviation. It has never been an inexpensive hobby. I earned every penny my early flying instruction cost me as a teenager in the early 1970s. Two part-time jobs during the week and a weekend spent at a local FBO cleaning restrooms, washing planes, sweeping out the old B-17 hangar, and fueling planes, was just enough for 1.5 hours dual in a C150. Dependency on scholarships and other freebie stuff will not teach people the value of a dollar, sinking fast thanks to a government living way beyond its means.