We will be holding our annual Scholarship and Resume workshop virtually this year! We will use Zoom and you can submit your resume ahead of time for live feedback. Chicago’s Leading Edge is proud to be awarding three $1500 scholarships this year; one for flight training, one for maintenance training, and a third for general tuition. One of the great benefits of being a member of Women in Aviation International and Chicago’s Leading Edge is that you may apply for three scholarships from national (and win one) and apply for two from CLE (and win one). Applications and a chapter membership application are attached as well as this link to WAI scholarships. Scholarship applications are due November 10th.
When: October 6, 2020, at 7 pm
Who: Anyone interested in feedback or tips on resumes and scholarship applications.
How: Submit resume to this email address by October 1st and sign in to the session at 7 pm on the 6th
Sherry, our Scholarship chair, will be discussing resumes, and Maureen, our President, will provide tips on scholarship applications. See you there!
Secondly, we’ll hold elections for the positions of Vice President and Secretary via Survey Monkey that will run from Oct. 6-15, 2020. Join us in voting for our new leadership!
Countdown to Sixth Annual Girls in Aviation Day! The worldwide virtual Girls in Aviation Day (GIAD) is set for Saturday, September 26, 2020, through a new Aviation for Girls App, sponsored by the U.S. Air Force. This unique WAI program is designed to educate girls 8-17 years of age while introducing them to the many career choices and lifestyle possibilities in the aviation/aerospace industry.
As a chapter, we’ll be promoting GIAD to local groups and handing out the backpacks (contents pictured below) on September 26th. We are asking you to spread the word along with the flyer. The pick-up locations for backpacks and t-shirts are:
North
First Presbyterian Arlington Heights, 302 N Denton Ave, 10am-4pm
Chicago’s Leading Edge is now accepting officer nominations for the positions of Vice President and Secretary. Each position includes a two year term and new officers will receive training from the outgoing VP and Secretary. If you would like to nominate yourself, please respond to this email and tell us which position you’d like to run for and include a short biography.
We encourage every member in good standing to consider running for a leadership position. Serving our membership in any capacity is an opportunity to both learn and mentor. It is an opportunity to lead and fulfill our mission of encouraging and advancing women in all aviation career fields. Your contribution will make a great difference in someone’s life, career and in our industry.
Below is a brief overview of the open positions. If this sounds interesting to you, don’t be shy about nominating yourself.
Vice President
Support the president with monthly meetings as necessary
Publish the quarterly newsletter
Oversee the mentorship program
Mentor a successor
Secretary
Support the president with monthly meetings as necessary
Send emails
Take minutes at required annual membership/board of directors meetings
Perform quarterly audits of membership list and coordinate with headquarters
Welcome new members and coordinate with the mentoring program
“In these difficult times, we hope all our members are faring well. If your career feels on hold, we want to suggest that you use this time to polish your resume and increase your competitive edge for when opportunities arise again. Chicago’s Leading Edge will soon be announcing $4500 in scholarships and Women in Aviation International has announced their offerings: https://www.wai.org/education/scholarships. The announcement on the various scholarships will be made on August 1st, 2020. All applications are due November 10, 2020 and the awardees will be announced in December, 2020.
And, with this in mind, there is no better time to get involved in our Mentor program. If you would like assistance with your resume or input on your scholarship application, sign up as a mentee. If on the other hand you would like to be a mentor, please let us know by emailing us at chicagosleadingedge@gmail.com.” – Maureen Hallacy, President – Chicago’s Leading Edge
We will hold a Virtual online Resume/Application session soon and send out a reminder to the members who want to participate.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, events for May, June and July have been canceled. We’ll keep you updated on the status of fall events when we can. Thank you all for your continued support! If you have news for the Chapter newsletter, please email chicagosleadingedge@gmail.com
April is National Volunteer Month and Chicago’s Leading Edge has some great volunteer opportunities! We are looking for help with the following events. If something piques your interest, please let us know! Volunteering is a great way give back to the aviation community and a fun way to represent Chicago’s Leading Edge!
March 20th: Evanston High School – Aviation Day & Aerospace Career Expo, 1pm-3pm
April 18th: East Aurora High School – STEM-A-Palooza, 10am-2pm
April 23rd: Hamilton Elementary in Chicago (Lake View) – 7th Annual Paper Airplane Invitational, 9am-12pm
April 25th: Bessie Coleman Fly Over at the Lincoln Cemetery in Chicago, 12pm-4pm
The 2020 fundraiser is scheduled for February 20, 2020 at Fitz’s Spare Key’s in Elmhurst. We’ll have a great trivia night with tons of silent auction items! There are also many food and drink specials! There is a $10 cover charge at the door and donations are welcome.
All proceeds from the event will go towards funding scholarships and outreach events to assist and encourage young people in aviation careers.
2020 kicks off with a few exciting events brought to you by 99’s Aviation Expo and the Career Symposium from Great Lakes WAI chapter!
The 99’s Aviation Expo will be held in Itasca Holiday Inn on Saturday, January 25th
There will be a social meeting and dinner at Fox and Turtle (click the link for menu) located at the Itasca Country Club (click the link for Google Map direction) This will be at 6:30pm on Friday, January 24th
The Great Lakes Chapter of Women in Aviation is hosting a Career Symposium on Saturday, January 25th @ Lansing Airport (click for direction) More information can be found by emailing wacsmichigan@gmail.com and in the flyer attached below!
We wish everyone a Happy New Year and an amazing 2020!
