Ethel Walker SchoolJordana Doshna ’21 has a unique view on the world, literally. She recently received her pilot’s license to fly solo and spends any chance she can soaring thousands of feet above us all.
“The most amazing part of piloting is seeing the world from a different perspective,” she says. “It’s like looking at the little villages they set up in museums but very realistic. My favorite thing is flying over the coast and looking at the waves on the beaches. You don’t realize how small they are.”
Jordana got the idea to start flying by accident. Her family lives near the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. They are part of the Sponsor Family Program, which pairs a Coast Guard cadet with a local family. The Doshna’s first cadet, Ryan O’Neill, went on to flight school and returned with many stories, inspiring a young Jordana.
She started her own flying career slowly by testing whether it was right for her, but quickly fell in love with being in the air. In between school work and all her other activities, including playing varsity field hockey and lacrosse as well as varsity skiing, Jordana has been training at Coastal Air in Connecticut. She says one of the most terrifying parts of the preparation has been practicing stalls. But nothing has been more exhilarating than her first trip up alone.
“It was so peaceful yet overwhelming,” she recalls, even while giving her one of the biggest adrenaline rushes of her life. “I went home and ran the fastest three miles of my life.”
Jordana is working toward getting her full private pilot license as soon as possible with the intention of being a Coast Guard rescue pilot. But before that, she has plans to try to leave a piece of her love for flying at Walker’s. She started an organization called Flight Club this year and hopes to find people with similar interests through it, perhaps even inspiring them to take up a new view on the world.
