So, she picked up her private licence in ground school
during her last year of university, and enrolled in a diplo- ma program in Abbotsford at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) to work toward her commercial licence. Kristin successfully applied for a handful of scholarships
throughout her journey, including the Women in Avia- tion International/Bombardier CRJ Type Rating scholar- ship, but financial assistance came in an unlikely form at one point during her training. Fate intervenes
Te acceptance letter from the aviation diploma pro-
gram at UFV had been misdirected, and by the time she got it, the $1,000 deposit was due at the end of the week. Tat very night, she checked a lottery ticket she had pur- chased, and three out of the four bonus numbers were a match. How much is that worth? “$1,000 exactly,” she says. “My aunt said, ‘You should’ve asked the gods for more,’” she laughs. After completing all of her licencing in Abbotsford,
she got her first job at Perimeter Aviation in Winnipeg. Tough her family lineage almost obligated her to work for Air Canada, they were laying off workers at the time she was looking for a job, and WestJet was hiring. “I thought ‘I might have to break the mould,’” says Kris-
tin, who loves the culture at WestJet. In retrospect, Kristin broke the mould in more than one way – only five per cent of pilots at her airline are women, and of that, about two
per cent are captains. Feeling a little solitary early on in her career, she vis- ited an annual conference for Women in Aviation in the United States, and was inspired to find 3,000 women like her in attendance. So, in 2002, she decided to introduce a local chapter of
the group to Winnipeg to bring the women who work in aviation together to share, give back, and create a support network within the community. As president of the local chapter, Kristin has offered to
represent Women in Aviation within the Manitoba Avia- tion Council, which currently lacks a female presence. She is also a board member of Women of Winnipeg, a school board member at her children’s nursery school where she frequently volunteers, and a committee member for the Out of the Blue Gala fundraiser for Te Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. Her community involve- ment has put her on the map as a role model among fe- male pilots. A woman who found her online once reached out to ask
her advice about advancing to the next step in her career as a captain. “Part of it was confidence,” says Kristin, who told her,
“If you really, really know your stuff inside and out, you’ll have the confidence to make the decisions. “I’m not a born leader,” admits Kristin. “I had to work at it, but I’ve evolved into (one).”
thehubwinnipeg.com
Spring 2015 • 71
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