Increasing Representation in the Aviation Industry

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The first stamp in my passport

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was when I was only four months old,

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and I haven't stopped traveling

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since, and I don't intend to stop.

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My name is Ozelle Bower.

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I'm from Oakland, California

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but I was born and raised in Fiji.

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From a young age,

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I've always known that traveling

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is going to be part of my life.

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The love of travel at first,

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is why I wanted to start flying

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but I didn't really know

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like, what I wanted to do with that.

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I had just graduated college,

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I had a job lined up.

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I was going to be working

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at a public relations agency

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I already have a salary.

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I had my 401k

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like, life is good.

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Before we took off, they're like,

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“Hi, this is your pilot

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speaking, uh, about a five hour trip.”

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For the first time,

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when I looked up, it was a woman pilot.

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That really just

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sparked something in me,

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like, okay, like

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this is something that I can do.

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Fast forward to 2020,

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working from home,

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but it's still in

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the back of my mind, like,

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I want to be traveling.

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I don't want to be sitting here anymore.

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That seed

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that was planted

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when I first saw that female pilot,

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it started blossoming.

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So, I actually took a Discovery flight,

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and this time I took my mom up.

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like, mom, like,

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this is something I want to do.

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I looked at other flight schools,

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but it was just way out of my budget.

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I was like, you know,

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why not just like,

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get my foot in the door, connect

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with as many people as I can?

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And I felt PAPA,

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Professional Asian Pilot Association

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was the best fit for me.

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So once I got my conditional offer

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to United Aviate Academy,

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they told me I had six months

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to get my FAA written

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exam done

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and then also come up with the funds

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in order to cover the costs

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of training.

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They posted the different organizations

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that they're partnering with.

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One of them being

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Professional Asian Pilots Association.

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So I applied to the scholarships

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and in the final round,

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I thought it was like, okay, this is it.

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And they're like,

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will you accept the $72,000 scholarship?

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And when they brought up the board,

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it was like

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Professional Asian Pilot Association

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and Chase,

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and I started crying.

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My mom was there with me on Zoom.

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It was a very exciting time.

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When I first started,

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I was working three separate jobs

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just so I could have time to fly

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during the day.

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I was working at the farmer's market.

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I was bartending, I was being a nanny.

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But then once awarded

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the scholarship, that stress goes away

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and you're able to focus on

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what's important,

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which is, which is flying a plane.

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I think just all

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those moments put together

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made me realize like, yes, like

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this is where I'm meant to be.

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I know Chase has partnered

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with so many other organizations

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to bring in more diverse talent.

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Chase is helping shift

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the industry to bring more people

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like me into the aviation industry.

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And that was also like

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the best risk

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that I ever took for myself

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because I wouldn't be where I am today.

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I wouldn't be as happy as I am today.

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I would like young Asian

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Pacific Islander,

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you know,

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aspiring pilots to know

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that you're not alone on this journey.

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I believe that programs

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like United Aviate Academy

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are extremely important

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because it opens the doors

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to minorities, to people of color,

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to women,

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to step into an industry

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that otherwise wouldn't be as accessible.

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When I walk around this campus,

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there's way more women in my class

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than any other class.

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Our academy is representative of,

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you know, the diversity

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that we see in the nation.

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What's even more

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so incredible about this

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academy is not only are they

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they're promoting diversity,

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but they're also pushing for inclusion.

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From day one

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I was literally told,

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“you belong here”.

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And I will continue

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to create these spaces

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and work with organizations

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to tell other,

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you know, little girls of color,

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little boys of color saying,

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you do belong here.

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You, you know, you can make a difference.

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You can become a pilot.

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I'm so grateful for companies like Chase

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for providing me with this opportunity.