Riata Ready

I would say the person that my mother made me. She really shaped who I was, and that's really taken me really far, as far as being driven, hardworking, and just that kind of person that's always driven to do more and be more. I mean, she really shaped me in that way. And I would just say, you know, hardships in life make you stronger, and so it makes you want to do more and achieve more. Coming from humble beginnings or having hardships in life actually, in the long term, turns out to be a benefit, because you're extra tough to go the mile that it takes to get to places that maybe people can't get, right? Because you've experienced hardships, whether it be financial or family. For me, I haven't had an easy life, but those hardships have really kind of made me the person I am, and has gotten me where I am today. I don't think without those hardships, I would be where I am.

I would say if you don't know what you want to do, I wouldn't go to college right away. I would pursue things that I had interest in and try to get near them and find what I was passionate about, and when you find it, you'll know. It may take some time, it may take years. But keep putting yourselves in rooms with people around places and things that you're interested in that pique your interest career-wise, and find out if you like it. Find out if that's going to be something for you. And you will come across what's meant for you eventually, and you'll be able to hold to it fast. And I personally think that, you know, college is great, but it doesn't necessarily expose you to all the different dimensions of the possibilities out there in the world.

The biggest challenge is economical fluctuations in the hiring, which is definitely hard. Right now it's kind of tough with that, because it can be really volatile with the hiring - it's like highs and lows, because it's kind of based off the economy. After COVID, we had everything booming, and now things kind of fell off. It's just kind of a volatile market, you know, being a pilot. And then I would say there's not a lot of females, maybe 6% of females. So there's its own challenges with that, right? Just kind of being one of the few females in an industry, there's its own set of challenges there.

At work, I definitely would say being transparent and upfront with people and making sure that you're a good person. When money gets involved and high things at stake, you know, just remembering at the core who you are and your values, because it's very easy in a fast-paced world to lose those values because you can get ahead faster, maybe if you cut corners or lose your values. So I always, for me, it's always staying true to those values, even if that means I'm not gonna get maybe as far. I think taking the right path will get you farther in the long run than taking the easy path that you have to lessen your values for.