From Cabin Aide to Gulfstream IV Pilot Continued from page 31 Kazmierczak is espe- cially grateful for her fellow pilots and the lead- ership team at Journey Aviation for taking her interest seriously from the start, and for sup- porting her as she began pilot training. “Once they saw my determination, I don’t think any of them doubted I would be com- ing back,” she said. “The pilots I’d worked with as a cabin aide were such a beacon throughout the whole process—not everyone has a fleet of GIV pilots at their disposal when they’re going through flight school—and that support system was huge for me.” Getting hired back at Journey Aviation made the whole adventure even more special for her. She admit- ted, “It meant a lot to me, being recognized for taking all of the steps, the time, the hours, the ratings, all of it, because the guys I’d worked with watched me go through this entire process. They recognized that I’d put in the work just like anyone of them, or like anyone else would do it, like any guy would do it. I still have moments where people mistake me for a cabin aide, even though I’m in the same uniform as the Captain. I’m not offended by it at all. I just politely say, ‘Actually, no, I’m the First Officer.’ Sometimes I still can’t quite believe it myself.” Most of all, Kazmierczak is proud to have done right by her childhood dream of taking a plane to anywhere and everywhere. She now is happily zig-zagging across the globe in her new job. “Traveling really does make you richer,” she explained “I was fortunate to get to travel a good bit when I was a kid. I was born in Venezuela and my dad was Polish, so I have dual citizenship and I’m bilingual, and I just really came to value travel from a young age. I wanted to explore. Now I’ve been to more places than I’d ever dreamed I’d make it to. Greece and Australia were two places that had always been on my mom’s list, and I was proud to have beat her to both places. I got to rub that in a little bit, for each of those! A while back, I spent two weeks in Morocco, one of the most memo- rable trips I’ve ever had. Now I’m adding new places I want to check off.” To anyone dreaming of following her high-flying, globe-trotting journey, Kazmierczak also offers a reality check, “You’ve got to love it. It’s more than just ‘I can make good money. I can travel.’ You really have to love it and like that it’s dynamic and always changing, that you’re always learning, that it’s the most responsibil- ity you’ll ever have in any job. It takes hard work and dedication, but with those two things alone you can absolutely make it in this industry. For the person who has all that, I feel like it’s one of the best careers in the world.” 32 Aviation Business Journal | Summer 2019
