People of Â鶹ֱ²¥: Alumna ‘brave enough to suck at something new’
Oct. 2, 2020
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People of Â鶹ֱ²¥: Meet Anna Julia Sirghiuta
I started my career in archaeology and research. I was in academia for a long time. And then at one point I listened to my inner voice and said, “I just want to try aviation.â€
It’s not a particular thing that I like about it, it’s moreso a feeling; you skip when you walk off to work. If it makes me happy, why not do it?
It wasn’t tough being a woman as a flight attendant because it’s 95 per cent women and all of our management were women.
But there are more men in corporate aviation than in flight.
There’s a stigma that men are pilots, women are flight attendants, and that female flight attendants are “trolley dollies.â€
As a student, I was inspired to create Â鶹ֱ²¥ Skies, a club at Â鶹ֱ²¥ that aims to support women in aviation through networking, education and events.
I just wanted to help other students. I know it sounds cliché, but the whole process helped create who I am as a person.
‘When you’re on your right path, everything aligns’
When I first started university before I went to Â鶹ֱ²¥, I remember I didn’t have any mentorship, and I didn’t know what I was doing. I felt lost and confused the whole time. I wish I had had someone back then to help guide me.
But when I later created Â鶹ֱ²¥ Skies, I brought with me the concept of being brave enough to suck at something new.
I wanted to be who I had needed when I was younger.
The advice I’d give students is to follow that inner voice.
If it feels right and you have this burning desire to try aviation, then just do it. When you’re on your right path, everything aligns.
Anna Julia Sirghiuta, alumni of Â鶹ֱ²¥â€™s Aviation Management program and founder of Â鶹ֱ²¥ Skies. She now works in corporate airport operations at Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto. Follow
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