How living at 10,200 has helped me succeed in aviation.

There are a myriad of ways in which living in a small mountain town, at an elevation of 10,200 feet, has helped me hone-in on the networking skills that are essential for a career in the aviation industry. Living in Leadville, Colorado, population 3,000, has many parallels to the relationships within the aviation community. Both can be said to be tight knit yet interactive, nationally and globally. People from all over the world travel to Leadville to see the home of Colorado’s highest peak, ski at the site where the 10th Mountain Division trained for WWII or participate in the highest 100-mile mountain bike and trail-running races. Most people who visit Leadville fall in love with the community and the lifestyle. The aviation world is a macrocosm that also piques the passions of those looking to soar higher.

My life in the mountains consisted of juggling a few jobs (many times in the same day) and recreating in the thirty miles of wilderness that surrounds the small city with two stop lights. I would serve people morning lattes as a barista at ‘Provin’ Gounds’ coffeehouse to see them again as I delivered their filet mignon that evening at Quincy's Steak & Spirits and note that I even saw them between shifts, running into them on the backyard trails that connected us all. Many of the same comments flowed about how quaint Leadville is and to ask if I lived here year-round or if people really live way up here at all. Life there was one where I could walk or bike just about everywhere and the cost of living, at the time, was very affordable. Enjoying the perks of free coffee, free-to-low-cost meals, and a debt-free life, I had the financial freedom to enjoy all the luxuries and experiences any traveler could hope for. Living in Leadville is not what you have, it is who know and who you are. Leadville is a community of citizens who help each other survive. Long winters require a lot of networking with friends and neighbors for snow removal, the procurement of firewood for heat and navigating the solitude that an 8-month, brutal-but-magical winter season brings. There is also the tourist-season element which brings Leadvillians together, striving to keep up with the never-ending demands that out-of-town guests always seem to bring. People who love the authentic, rugged lifestyle yet, want us to deliver it to them wrapped with a bow. My fellow service-industry workers made the Leadville community tick, we shared our knowledge and services to help each other and serve others. I spent eleven years loving life in Leadville, as a mountain hippie, running as wild as the summer flowers grow on Mosquito Pass. I didn’t realize at that time that I was gaining valuable skills that would serve me in a competitive industry that I had not yet envisioned as part of my future. In retrospect, cultivating relationships in this community of like-minded, amazing souls was my networking 101.

One of my seasonal jobs was working the ramp for SkyWest Airlines as a ground agent in Eagle/Vail, Colorado. With the love of adventure and endurance I attained while thriving in Leadville, a new confidence in myself emerged. With this strength, combined with my love for a new challenge, I faithfully dove into flight training. My first solo flight was June 2018. To date, as of January 2021, I have reached the goal of ATP minimums with 1,500 hours of flight time. I have all my ratings and have received multiple awards and promotions. 

Aviation mentors and naysayers alike share the similar opinion that, “networking is the key to this industry.” Networking can sound intimidating, especially when one is not particularly socially driven. It was a defining moment when I realized that I was better at networking in the aviation industry than I had anticipated. I credit this to the lessons that living in Leadville taught me about community as well as being able to identify what style of networking works for me. To be able to help a neighbor by having that random item they need, in the middle of a blizzard, is an amazing feeling and shines appreciation on a good life. Sharing in these moments when the puzzle pieces of life serendipitously fall into place are so magical when you’re allowed to be a part of it. I have moved far from the extreme rawness of Leadville to the extreme, heat-filled desert, full of traffic and anonymity that is Phoenix. Moving to Arizona has been a long and lonely trail as I continue to carve my path as an airline pilot but in that I have found myself in a new network full of mutual support. I am eager to continue growing in the aviation community by volunteering in aviation events, mentoring student pilots, and sharing my time and opportunities with other pilots. Connecting and sharing with others in the aviation world can only open the doors of knowledge and opportunity regardless if the participants are in the same aircraft, field, or company. 
 

The further I advance as a pilot, the steeper the competitive grade and only those who have trained and prepared will have the traction to continue on to the sweet reward of the summit. This is where I will celebrate with those who helped me soar and those to whom I was able to help on their journey. Far from the summit of my career, I recognize that we must share the resources of our community in order to succeed. My working commitment is to continue doing all that I can for both of my communities, Leadville and Aviation. Leadville and the aviation industry are composed of lifestyle and community, they both require shared experience, opportunities, and resources from within so we can all survive the winter, COVID and the long trail to the top.