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Tuskegee Partners with Sisters of the Skies for Girls Rock Wings event
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Tuskegee Partners with Sisters of the Skies for Girls Rock Wings event
Thonnia Lee27 April 2026
3 minute read
TU Director of the Aviation Degree Program Capt. Titus Sanders and Retired United Airlines Pilot Theresa M. Claiborne
Contact: Thonnia Lee, Office of Strategic Communications
Aviation student Kembriah Parker trains girls on a flight simulator.
When a 10-year-old little girl navigates a flight simulator for the first time or puts on the uniform of an airline pilot, she is able to envision herself flying aircraft when her classmates are still playing with toys. And when she goes up with an instructor and flies over Moton Field as Tuskegee Airmen did decades ago, life goals are set immediately.
For 60 girls, aged 10 to 18, from across the United States, spending Saturday at Tuskegee University as part of Girls Rock Wings, they rotated through a series of exercises on campus at Chappie James Arena, the Chambliss building’s simulators, and on Moton Field, exposing them to different aspects of aviation. The day-long event was organized by Sisters of the Skies, an organization of African American women pilots who volunteer and advocate for exposing girls of color to aviation opportunities, and sponsored by United Air Lines.
In addition to members of SOS, volunteers included members of United’s Black Employee Network Group, and Tuskegee University Aviation Science students.
“This is a full-circle moment. I have been waiting to come down since this program opened,” said Theresa M. Claiborne, referring to the university's new aviation degree program. Claiborne is a retired United Boeing 787 captain who was also the first Black woman to serve as a pilot in the United States Air Force and a co-founder of Sisters of the Skies. “Some of them probably will make their decisions today. But they don’t have to be a pilot. There are so many opportunities in aviation.”
Makeda Dawson, an American Eagle pilot, poses with students.
Stephanie Hartsfield, who flies a Boeing 787 for American Airlines and a board member of SOS, retired from the Navy in 2022, but didn’t begin flying until after she finished her service.
“Our goal is to increase our sisterhood through outreach, scholarship and mentorship,” she said. “It exposes young girls to the opportunities in the most favorable way, from someone who looks like them.”
UPS cargo pilot Angel Jean-Charles agrees.
“Now you have a tribe,” she told young ladies who were trying on uniforms. “You have us. You’re connected to us forever now. Think of us as a sorority; it’s our safe space.”
“This is my favorite part of SOS,” said Jean-Charles who has been flying since she was 16. “Representation matters. That’s what I’ll always say."
In the Chambliss building, as students were waiting their turn to navigate flight simulators donated to the university by the U.S. Air Force, Makeda Dawson, an American Eagle pilot, was in her element.
Girl tries on pilot uniform.
“I live to do outreach like this. I love being able to inspire the kids and be role models for them because I didn’t have that,” she said. “We can change their mindset on aviation at a young age.”
Dawson said she knew in the third grade that she wanted to fly. She grew up on St. John, an island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. When she traveled with her grandmother she didn’t see Black women in uniform. She enrolled in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where the cost of flying became a challenge and SOS provided two scholarships to help her finish her education.
Tuskegee University Director of the Aviation Degree Program Capt. Titus Sanders is a United Airlines pilot, and was instrumental in coordinating the event.
"Sixty young Black girls stood on the same ground as the Tuskegee Airmen Saturday, and many of them left believing for the first time that the cockpit is a place for them,” he said. “That's the power of Sisters of the Skies: real role models, real mentors, and a real future in aviation. Tuskegee University and our Aviation Science Program are proud to be part of that journey, and we look forward to welcoming many of these young ladies back when they're ready to begin their aviation education.”
