Milena Kalinitsch

I taxied through my pilot training, took off at IU, and I`m climbing through the upper airspace at EASA. My name is Milena Kalinitsch, I graduated already back in 2014 from Aviation Management, and now I'm working in EASA (the European Union Aviation Safety Agency), in the personal relations department, the tested partner relations coordinator.

IU actually taught me that there is a world far beyond just flying the aircraft as a pilot.

My key inspiration was my first flight. We landed at Twizel, a very short runway - and then the brakes struck. That's when it hit me: aviation is my passion. I was never afraid that it was a male dominated world. So for me it was more than natural I would do something I like, and it was this combination of this feeling of excitement - you know, the same feeling as you get when you're in a roller coaster - that's what I get when I step into an aircraft; together with, “of course I can do that, doesn't matter that I'm a woman, I can.”

When I graduated from my pilot training, and when I wasn't able to find a job in this financial crisis… I didn't think I would make it anywhere at that moment. Then at IU I saw potential, but I wouldn't have dared to dream to get to EASA at this young of an age.

EASA a to me is a big family. It's a challenge every day. But it's also a world full of opportunities. What I would definitely want to advise you is: take care of what makes you happy. Think of what makes you happy because this is what will take you far. If you're just doing a job for the looks of it, if you're doing a university course for the looks of it, you might get far - but you will get much further, and you'll be proud of what you've achieved, if you do that what makes you happy.

The ancient Greeks dreamed of flying. Now we can fly. Your dream, of something in the future - who knows, it might happen.