Women Pilots Visit Lakeland Copper Beech Middle School

Inspiration can present itself in many forms, and for one group of students at Lakeland Copper Beech Middle School, it came in the form of Amelia Earhart.

Mike Cerniglia began teaching his students about the famed female pilot in the fall and immediately noticed that Earhart’s story struck a chord with the class. Cerniglia expanded his lesson plan and opted for a more hands-on approach. Over the next few months, the students painted a portrait of Earhart, built a replica of her home from pizza boxes, and even filmed a movie about her life.

Soon after, Cerniglia contacted the Ninety-Nines, a group of female pilots that Earhart co-founded in 1929. The group was so impressed with his class projects that they decided to send two local members, Cathy Vajtay and Jean Scibetta, to speak with the students in person.

“Our main goal with the Ninety-Nines is airspace education,” said Scibetta, who was eager to share her story. “When a school asks us to come, we do. We feel that it’s important that the kids know that flying is out there and it’s something that anyone can do.”

Cerniglia and his students arranged the classroom to resemble a talk show, with Vajtay and Scibetta as the guests of the hour and the students serving as hosts. Brimming with excitement, the class could hardly wait to begin their questioning of the pilots, who were surrounded shortly upon entering the room.

Even though the class may contain only a few aspiring pilots, there was no shortage of curious minds. Vajtay and Scibetta were asked about everything from their favorite pizza topping to their first flight and to their own personal inspirations. “You’re making us feel special,” said Scibetta, who seemed to enjoy the experience as much as the students.

“We started the project off by just introducing the students to Amelia Earhart through some books,” said Cerniglia. “Her life and her experiences seemed to resonate a lot with the students and the project just grew and grew.

“I wanted them to take away a positive experience from learning about a woman who changed the world, who changed the direction and the course of what was considered capable. I wanted them to see that. We can lecture, teachers are good that, but I wanted them to see that through a bunch of different modalities.”

Earhart was the first president of the Ninety-Nines. The group, which chose its name to represent all 99 charter members, assembled for the purpose of advancement of female aviation. Today the group consists of over 5,500 members from 35 countries and, with the help of members such as Vajtay and Scibetta, will continue to grow.

While Vajtay has always had a passion for flying, she didn’t pursue her pilot’s license until after the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. She cannot fly as often as she'd like, since she maintains a full-time job. The retired Scibetta, on the other hand, has been flying for 17 years and is a self-described “airport bum,” spending most of her spare time there. Occasionally, Scibetta will fly to Pennsylvania simply for a “hundred dollar hamburger,” which is the cost to fuel the trip.

The class also asked the pilots to share their favorite quotes about flying. Vajtay threw out a few before finally settling on, “If you build a mile of road, you can drive a mile. If you build a mile of runway, you can go anywhere.”

Scibetta had a similar but simpler message she hoped to get across to the students, telling them if you want something, “just go for it.”