00:00:09:06 - 00:00:10:10
The first stamp in my passport
00:00:10:10 - 00:00:12:06
was when I was only four months old,
00:00:12:06 - 00:00:13:20
and I haven't stopped traveling
00:00:13:20 - 00:00:15:05
since, and I don't intend to stop.
00:00:23:18 - 00:00:24:23
My name is Ozelle Bower.
00:00:24:23 - 00:00:26:07
I'm from Oakland, California
00:00:26:07 - 00:00:27:20
but I was born and raised in Fiji.
00:00:27:20 - 00:00:28:20
From a young age,
00:00:28:20 - 00:00:31:08
I've always known that traveling
00:00:31:08 - 00:00:32:13
is going to be part of my life.
00:00:32:13 - 00:00:34:09
The love of travel at first,
00:00:34:09 - 00:00:36:04
is why I wanted to start flying
00:00:36:04 - 00:00:36:22
but I didn't really know
00:00:36:22 - 00:00:38:14
like, what I wanted to do with that.
00:00:38:14 - 00:00:39:23
I had just graduated college,
00:00:39:23 - 00:00:41:08
I had a job lined up.
00:00:41:08 - 00:00:41:22
I was going to be working
00:00:41:22 - 00:00:43:06
at a public relations agency
00:00:43:06 - 00:00:44:09
I already have a salary.
00:00:44:09 - 00:00:45:13
I had my 401k
00:00:45:13 - 00:00:46:09
like, life is good.
00:00:50:09 - 00:00:51:13
Before we took off, they're like,
00:00:51:13 - 00:00:52:10
“Hi, this is your pilot
00:00:52:10 - 00:00:54:22
speaking, uh, about a five hour trip.”
00:00:54:22 - 00:00:55:13
For the first time,
00:00:55:13 - 00:00:57:03
when I looked up, it was a woman pilot.
00:00:58:08 - 00:00:58:22
That really just
00:00:58:22 - 00:01:00:02
sparked something in me,
00:01:00:02 - 00:01:00:20
like, okay, like
00:01:00:20 - 00:01:02:09
this is something that I can do.
00:01:02:17 - 00:01:04:14
Fast forward to 2020,
00:01:04:14 - 00:01:05:22
working from home,
00:01:05:22 - 00:01:06:19
but it's still in
00:01:06:19 - 00:01:07:13
the back of my mind, like,
00:01:07:13 - 00:01:08:11
I want to be traveling.
00:01:08:11 - 00:01:09:20
I don't want to be sitting here anymore.
00:01:09:20 - 00:01:10:08
That seed
00:01:10:08 - 00:01:10:21
that was planted
00:01:10:21 - 00:01:13:12
when I first saw that female pilot,
00:01:13:12 - 00:01:14:13
it started blossoming.
00:01:14:13 - 00:01:15:18
So, I actually took a Discovery flight,
00:01:15:18 - 00:01:17:04
and this time I took my mom up.
00:01:17:04 - 00:01:18:08
like, mom, like,
00:01:18:08 - 00:01:19:14
this is something I want to do.
00:01:19:14 - 00:01:20:18
I looked at other flight schools,
00:01:20:18 - 00:01:22:06
but it was just way out of my budget.
00:01:22:06 - 00:01:22:20
I was like, you know,
00:01:22:20 - 00:01:24:05
why not just like,
00:01:24:05 - 00:01:25:14
get my foot in the door, connect
00:01:25:14 - 00:01:27:06
with as many people as I can?
00:01:27:06 - 00:01:29:01
And I felt PAPA,
00:01:29:01 - 00:01:31:11
Professional Asian Pilot Association
00:01:31:11 - 00:01:32:21
was the best fit for me.
00:01:32:21 - 00:01:34:20
So once I got my conditional offer
00:01:34:20 - 00:01:36:03
to United Aviate Academy,
00:01:36:03 - 00:01:38:00
they told me I had six months
00:01:38:00 - 00:01:40:16
to get my FAA written
00:01:40:16 - 00:01:41:07
exam done
00:01:41:07 - 00:01:42:22
and then also come up with the funds
00:01:42:22 - 00:01:45:23
in order to cover the costs
00:01:45:23 - 00:01:46:12
of training.
00:01:46:12 - 00:01:48:07
They posted the different organizations
00:01:48:07 - 00:01:49:08
that they're partnering with.
00:01:49:08 - 00:01:50:04
One of them being
00:01:50:04 - 00:01:52:04
Professional Asian Pilots Association.
00:01:52:04 - 00:01:54:04
So I applied to the scholarships
00:01:54:04 - 00:01:55:18
and in the final round,
00:01:55:18 - 00:01:57:17
I thought it was like, okay, this is it.
00:01:57:17 - 00:01:58:03
And they're like,
00:01:58:03 - 00:02:01:03
will you accept the $72,000 scholarship?
00:02:01:09 - 00:02:03:05
And when they brought up the board,
00:02:03:05 - 00:02:03:20
it was like
00:02:03:22 - 00:02:05:13
Professional Asian Pilot Association
00:02:05:13 - 00:02:06:11
and Chase,
00:02:06:11 - 00:02:08:13
and I started crying.
00:02:08:13 - 00:02:11:00
My mom was there with me on Zoom.
00:02:11:00 - 00:02:12:12
It was a very exciting time.
00:02:12:12 - 00:02:13:06
When I first started,
00:02:13:06 - 00:02:14:22
I was working three separate jobs
00:02:14:22 - 00:02:17:04
just so I could have time to fly
00:02:17:04 - 00:02:17:15
during the day.
00:02:17:15 - 00:02:19:11
I was working at the farmer's market.
00:02:19:11 - 00:02:22:05
I was bartending, I was being a nanny.
00:02:22:05 - 00:02:23:12
But then once awarded
00:02:23:12 - 00:02:25:18
the scholarship, that stress goes away
00:02:25:18 - 00:02:26:18
and you're able to focus on
00:02:26:18 - 00:02:27:10
what's important,
00:02:27:10 - 00:02:29:01
which is, which is flying a plane.
00:02:29:01 - 00:02:30:04
I think just all
00:02:30:04 - 00:02:32:06
those moments put together
00:02:32:06 - 00:02:33:16
made me realize like, yes, like
00:02:33:16 - 00:02:35:02
this is where I'm meant to be.
00:02:35:02 - 00:02:36:04
I know Chase has partnered
00:02:36:04 - 00:02:38:08
with so many other organizations
00:02:38:08 - 00:02:40:21
to bring in more diverse talent.
00:02:40:21 - 00:02:42:04
Chase is helping shift
00:02:42:04 - 00:02:44:04
the industry to bring more people
00:02:44:04 - 00:02:46:05
like me into the aviation industry.
00:02:46:05 - 00:02:46:21
And that was also like
00:02:46:21 - 00:02:47:15
the best risk
00:02:47:15 - 00:02:48:20
that I ever took for myself
00:02:48:20 - 00:02:51:13
because I wouldn't be where I am today.
00:02:51:13 - 00:02:53:21
I wouldn't be as happy as I am today.
00:02:53:21 - 00:02:56:06
I would like young Asian
00:02:56:06 - 00:02:57:17
Pacific Islander,
00:02:57:17 - 00:02:58:01
you know,
00:02:58:01 - 00:02:59:20
aspiring pilots to know
00:02:59:20 - 00:03:02:05
that you're not alone on this journey.
00:03:02:05 - 00:03:03:22
I believe that programs
00:03:03:22 - 00:03:05:06
like United Aviate Academy
00:03:05:06 - 00:03:06:16
are extremely important
00:03:06:16 - 00:03:08:15
because it opens the doors
00:03:08:15 - 00:03:11:23
to minorities, to people of color,
00:03:12:07 - 00:03:13:05
to women,
00:03:13:05 - 00:03:14:10
to step into an industry
00:03:14:10 - 00:03:17:02
that otherwise wouldn't be as accessible.
00:03:17:02 - 00:03:18:18
When I walk around this campus,
00:03:18:18 - 00:03:21:04
there's way more women in my class
00:03:21:04 - 00:03:22:12
than any other class.
00:03:22:12 - 00:03:25:20
Our academy is representative of,
00:03:25:20 - 00:03:26:16
you know, the diversity
00:03:26:16 - 00:03:27:22
that we see in the nation.
00:03:27:22 - 00:03:28:21
What's even more
00:03:28:21 - 00:03:30:09
so incredible about this
00:03:30:09 - 00:03:32:07
academy is not only are they
00:03:32:07 - 00:03:33:07
they're promoting diversity,
00:03:33:07 - 00:03:35:05
but they're also pushing for inclusion.
00:03:35:05 - 00:03:36:05
From day one
00:03:36:05 - 00:03:37:09
I was literally told,
00:03:37:09 - 00:03:38:15
“you belong here”.
00:03:38:15 - 00:03:39:08
And I will continue
00:03:39:08 - 00:03:40:15
to create these spaces
00:03:40:15 - 00:03:42:12
and work with organizations
00:03:42:12 - 00:03:43:19
to tell other,
00:03:43:19 - 00:03:45:06
you know, little girls of color,
00:03:45:06 - 00:03:46:18
little boys of color saying,
00:03:46:18 - 00:03:48:01
you do belong here.
00:03:48:01 - 00:03:49:14
You, you know, you can make a difference.
00:03:49:14 - 00:03:50:22
You can become a pilot.
00:03:50:22 - 00:03:53:14
I'm so grateful for companies like Chase
00:03:53:14 - 00:03:55:17
for providing me with this opportunity.
