Women Can Do! Conference

Oct 10

We were incredibly honored to be a part of the Women Can Do! Conference, an inspiring event that brought over 500 female high school students from across the state to the Randolph Center campus. The conference provides young women with the opportunity to explore educational and career paths in science, engineering, technology, math (STEM), and trade fields—areas that have long needed more female representation.

Habitat for Aviation was thrilled to contribute to this powerful initiative, showing the students that they can be pilots, airplane mechanics, avionics specialists, and much more. At our hands-on stations, the students had the chance to work with some of the tools our Rosies use every Sunday when building our airplane.

They learned to cut and strip electrical wire, create soldered connections, shrink wrap, and prepare safety wire, all skills that are crucial in the world of aviation. The highlight of the day was seeing these young women engage with the materials, ask questions, and create their very own bracelets or safety wire keychains.

Witnessing the youth communicating, learning, and creating, all while gaining a deeper understanding of the opportunities available to them was wonderful —a powerful reminder of the impact we can have by providing spaces where young women can explore, create, and be inspired.

One of the most inspiring outcomes of our participation in the Women Can Do! Conference was meeting Maisy Gendimenico, a young woman who discovered Habitat for Aviation through the event. She was captivated by the opportunity to learn new skills. Today, Maisy is one of our Modern Rosies and a true embodiment of the possibilities the conference highlighted.

She’s working toward her pilot’s license and is an integral part of the airplane build at our Habitat for Aviation hangar. Her dedication, enthusiasm, and commitment to learning are a testament to the impact of creating spaces where young women can explore, create, and discover their potential. Maisy’s journey from conference attendee to active member of our team is just one of the many success stories we are proud to share. We are honored to support her as she takes flight toward an exciting future in aviation.

Beth White

Education Possibilitarian, Artist, Writer, Doula, Mentor, Aviatrix, Breast Cancer Survivor, Pilot-in-Command at Habitat for Aviation

In the spring of 2022, Beth White emerged from a 10-month battle with breast cancer with an idea: to create an apprenticeship program at Franklin County State Airport where youth work alongside adult mentors servicing conventional and electric aircraft. A pilot and airplane mechanic apprentice herself, and with family roots in the trades, Habitat for Aviation provides an taxilane for world learning opportunities for youth and adults who love to work with their hands to enter the FAA’s apprenticeship certification track. Each day she puts systems in place that make real John Dewey’s philosophy that we “learn best what we live” – a deep throughline from her time at Antioch University New England and as Regional Director for Big Picture Learning. Each learning experience is grounded in relationships, relevance, and practice. In October, 2023, Habitat for Aviation launched its Women Build Planes program, where an all-female team of Modern Day Rosies is building an airplane at Franklin County Airport, in northwestern Vermont, to show folks everywhere that despite the fact that only 2.6% of airplane mechanics are female, women BUILD, FLY, and FIX airplanes.

Women Can Do! Conference

Habitat for Aviation team “Stickers” Tech Jam

A Visit from Amelia Earhart’s Great Nephew