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AssetID: 37189123

Headline: All-Female Airline Crew Flies 120 Girls To NASA To Encourage Female Aviators

Caption: Delta Air Lines flew 120 girls from Salt Lake City, Utah, to NASA in Houston to inspire girls to pursue careers in aviation (Oct519). Fittingly, the flight was operated entirely by women, from the pilots and on-board crew to the air traffic controllers and ramp agents - a move that illustrates Delta's WING (Women Inspiring our Next Generation) mission. Delta's WING Flight originated in 2015 as an effort to diversify a male-dominated industry and expose girls to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers at a young age. This year's anniversary makes over 600 female students who have taken to the skies with Delta through the program. “We know representation matters,” Beth Poole, the General Manager of Pilot Development says. “At Delta, we believe you have to see it to be it.” "We're taking ownership to improve gender diversity by exposing girls at a young age and providing a pipeline so that 10 years from now, they will be the pilots in the Delta cockpit inspiring generations of women who follow." A plane full of professionals is not all that WING’s aspiring aviators saw. Once they landed in Houston, they were invited to explore four NASA sites: the Mission Control Center, Building 9, Johnson Space Center, and Space Center Houston, a Smithsonian Affiliate museum. On top of exclusive tours of the premises, the girls were offered meet-and-greets with mentors from male-dominated aviation workgroups - including lunch with Jeanette Epps, an astronaut and aerospace engineer. "I never would have thought I would have had this experience. I'm really grateful for my parents who have made this possible and inspired my love of aviation," said Karyanna H.,16, an 11th grader at Jordan Technical Institute. "It's such an exciting time to be in STEM. There's so much left for us to discover." By introducing these students to the inner-workings of NASA - and, most importantly, to the women who help make it all possible - Delta aims to show girls and young women interested in STEM (“Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics”) that the sky’s the limit. “It didn’t seem realistic to go after a career in aviation,” remarked Katelyn J., a 17-year-old WING participant. "...but today I realised, ‘Hey, I can do this, too.’ ”

Keywords: feature,photo feature,photo story,aviation,women,female,empowerment,pilot,flying,flies

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