Danielle Hylton flies in face of gender bias

Garfene Grandison, Gleaner Writer

Danielle Hylton has been learning to fly an airplane for less than a year, but already she plans to combine aviation and engineering for a career that should take her very high - literally and figuratively.

How long have you been in this field?

10 months.

Where have you studied?

The Caribbean Aviation Training Centre.

Why this career path?

Aviation is a mixture of science, freedom, beauty and adventure and I am a lover of all of those, hence it's my chosen career path. It's also better to choose a career that I will be happy with.

How was the process when you first started in this career field?

When I first started it seemed quite manageable. As I got along it got more challenging but still manageable, with an extra bit of hard work.

What are you currently doing to further develop your ambitions for your career path?

Currently, I am preparing for university in August, where I will be continuing my flying to get all the necessaries, as well as to achieve my BSc in aerospace engineering.

What do you hope to achieve in 10 years?

In the next 10 years I hope to achieve my dream job, which is flying one of those 'big birds' somewhere in the Middle East. I would also like to have my own school for babies and preschoolers, because I just love kids.

What drives and inspires your career path?

As part of the next generation I will have my services to offer, as well as valuable resources that I would love to provide mainly for the kids and youths of the next generation. I have already started planning. There are great things to come.

What do you have to offer as the future of the next generation?

The main factor that drives and inspires my career path is being a female within the aviation industry, seeing that not many women are in this industry. So it is all the push that I need, because I get to prove to guys that females can take on any task given.

Do you consider yourself to be revolutionary? How do you plan to change the game or your field?

Of course, I consider myself to be revolutionary. I plan to change my field by having an organisation/group for female pilots where we are treated equally as the males and are not used as second choice.

Besides access to education, what do you think needs to be done in order to transform youth in Jamaica?

In order to transform youth in Jamaica the government needs to get them more involved in youth activities and, instead of offering them to a certain class, they should be offered to even the underprivileged. The government also needs to set a better example for the youths.

Distinguish yourself from your peers.

It's just the little things I do that make me different from my peers. I am a very understanding, outgoing and disciplined person who always tries to live by the rules.

Old men rule the world, true or false? Why?

False. It's the younger generation that rules the world. Technology, created by the younger folks, has clearly taken over. The younger generation are the ones with the new and creative ideas.

What's been the most challenging part of making a name for yourself in your field?

The most challenging part of making a name for myself in my field is being a female. Men often underestimate what we can really do.

The main factor that drives and inspires my career path is being a female within the aviation industry, seeing that not many women are in this industry.