Airmen impart diversity, stereotype perspectives to Girl Scouts
By Senior Airman Hailey Haux, Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs Command Information / Published May 28, 2015
WASHINGTON (AFNS) – --
A group of Sanders Corner Elementary School Girl Scouts looking to achieve their Bronze Award and the Girls Can Do Anything Badge visited Airmen at the Pentagon May 21.
To receive the badge and award, the girls met with Airmen to discuss stereotypes in the Air Force and how they were able to overcome them to achieve success.
“Stereotypes bin people unnecessarily,” said Christy Nolta, the secretary of the Air Force, Legislative Liaison Office deputy director. “We are about asking questions, because innovation in technology doesn’t just come with listening to what other people think you ought to be. It comes with stepping out, being confident and unafraid to talk about what you are thinking.”
Airmen answered questions about their personal experiences with stereotypes, their role models, and their paths to success.
“A long time ago there were WASPS, the Women Air-force Service Pilots … who flew in the military … and paved the way for women to be able to fly,” said Lt. Col. Gina Sabric, an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot. “They opened up a lot of doors for us.”
With interest in careers such as an interior designer, school secretary, photographer, author, teacher, veterinarian, artist or architect, the Girl Scouts said they learned a lot about breaking stereotypes.
“You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover,” said Riley Jackman, a fourth-grader. “You don’t know them so you have to talk and ask questions to find out who they are.”
Question after question, the Airmen emphasized the importance of commitment to goals, awareness of stereotypes and embracing diversity.
“Occasionally you are going to stumble and things aren’t going to go exactly as you want,” said Lt. Col. Kim Campbell, A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot. “The important thing is you keep going, keep trying, keep studying, and you can still achieve your goal in the end -- for me it was becoming a pilot. It’s not about gender or race. It’s about how you perform. The main thing is that you go out and do the best you can and prove the stereotypes wrong.”
The girls said their interaction with Airmen was inspirational in achieving their own future goals.
“It was harder for (Airmen) to do certain things because they weren’t allowed at first,” said Megan Simanowith, a fourth-grader. “They are paving the way for other girls, like us, and the more women there are like them, the more things are going to change.”
Sabric said the meeting enabled her to show the girls anything is attainable with hard work and dedication and that many previous societal barriers to women are now opportunities to new generations.
“We try to break (stereotypes) every single day -- not just between men and women or races,” Nolta said. “It’s really important in the military that we have a mix of all kinds of people because that brings strength to the group and makes (it) able to accomplish the mission.”