For Sophie LeGore, a junior from DeForest, Wisconsin studying aviation technologies, flying and working on planes is in the blood.

However, although her dad, grandpa and uncle are all in the aviation field, LeGore rarely sees any other women.

“Walking into a classroom and seeing maybe one other girl in my class was very intimidating,” said LeGore, who is one of eight women out of the 128 students enrolled in her program. “I’ve had only male instructors except for one. There’s only one female instructor in my program. So not only are my peers mostly men, my instructors are also men.”

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Of the 441 students enrolled in all aviation majors, 52 are women, according to university data.

 LeGore is making an effort to change this, and she isn’t alone. She serves as the president of the SIU chapter of Women in Aviation, called the Saluki Aviators.

Women in Aviation International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing and encouraging women in aviation studies, and different chapters across the world work together to achieve their goals, LeGore said.

“Our chapter does a lot of community outreach,” LeGore said. “The organization reaches out to younger people and older women as well. They provide a network of mentors and career opportunities for women in the aviation industry.”

LeGore said she never doubted that she wanted to be in the aviation industry, and she often attended camps as a teenager that showed her the different pathways she could take within the field.

“Having that exposure to it early on life made me think about it a little bit more,” LeGore said. “I realized that’s what I wanted to pursue because that’s something I’m very passionate about.”

Rachel Piacentini, a senior from Steger studying aviation management and a part-time instructor in the program, said she has never had a female instructor herself.

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“It’s kind of weird at first, because you go into the classes and sometimes you’re the only girl,” Piacentini said.

Still, Piacentini said she has never felt unwelcome as a woman in the program.

“That was one of the reasons why I actually came here,” Piacentini said. “It’s a really supportive community in our department and we all push to make each other better.”

LeGore said it could be scary for some women at first to jump into an unfamiliar field.

“The biggest first step is just getting in there,” LeGore said. “Once you make that first step, it becomes a lot less scary.”

Though both found the lack of women intimidating at first, they said they now feel more at home.

“I didn’t fully know what to expect,” LeGore said. “But when I got in I realized that it was just a really great community of people who all love the same thing … We’re all just a bunch of geeks out here at the airport, just having fun with airplanes, learning a lot and hopefully we’re going to be able to transfer that to the industry and make some impacts.”

She said everyone in the program, regardless of gender, is trying to learn as much as they can.

“Nobody is going to hire you if you’re not qualified,” LeGore said. “You’re still set to the same standards as men.”

Mike Burgener, the department chair for aviation technologies, said he thinks women might be hesitant to get into aviation field because it’s traditionally male-dominated, but companies are looking to hire women to balance out their staff.

“Organizations like Women in Aviation are critical for getting the word out that these are viable occupations for women, and not only viable occupations but employers are really seeking out women because it is such a non-traditional field,” he said.

Although the industry can still be challenging for women to go into, Burgener said the environment is improving as more women enter the field.

“I think it’s inevitable that it’s more challenging for women when they’re at an imbalance like that,” Burgener said. “It’s good that there are women within the organization at all levels, not just as students but also as faculty and staff.”

Bergener, who is also an instructor in the program, said the important thing is to keep recruiting students, regardless of gender.

“I wish it wasn’t such an imbalance but it’s typical of a lot of these fields I think,” Burgener said. “We just have to do our best to get the word out that these are extremely viable fields.”

The program instructors play a big part in making the women feel at-ease, LeGore said.

“They have really helped me get comfortable with the idea that this is a male-dominated field and it’s just something you have to get used to,” LeGore said. “Hopefully that will change in the future, but as for right now it’s definitely an adjustment.”

Staff writer Kitt Fresa can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @kittfresa.

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