Written by Chloe Lanham
It’s a night in the early 2000s in southern California, and Millie Alba-Sommers is eating a meal from In-N-Out with her father near the airport– the pair watching the planes take off. Those fond memories were the start of her love for aviation.
Fast forward to her freshman year at Florida Southern College, when her professor heard about her interest. Her professor suggested she attend the second largest aerospace expo in the United States called “SUN ‘n FUN”, for its’ 50th anniversary. Now, anytime she hears a roar in the sky, she quickly learns what plane it is by checking her flight radar app.
Besides watching planes as a child with her father, Alba-Sommers also credits a lot of her passion for aviation to the movie Top Gun: Maverick (2022). She resonates most with character Mickey Garcia, one of the “back seaters who makes a quip every once in a while.” She said, “I’d love to be able to say Goose” from the 1986 original Top Gun, “but I’ll be real, I fear that I’m a little too Type A for that.”
As if being a full-time student of FSC was not enough, Alba-Sommers holds three jobs under the Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE) umbrella. She spends the majority of her time as a program assistant through the education department, working on outreach and field trips for elementary through high school students. She writes articles for the Florida Air Museum‘s monthly newsletter, and assists with events such as SUN ‘n FUN or field trips. On weekends, she works within the Lakeland Linder Airport, at the MarketplACE selling sodas, chips and other airline appetizers.
She comments that Lakeland is a hub for aviation that many people may not know about. Recently, Avelo Airlines began flights to and from Lakeland. Avelo is an airline who specializes in lower cost flights and smaller airport destinations. The Avelo commercial flights from the airport span out to Tennessee, New York, and more, with plans to expand their flight options in the future. The airport complex also features rental car places and space for company cargo flights.
Alba-Sommers loves to work the summer camps at ACE, including the all-girls summer camp, “She Can Fly.” The full-female staff operates one of the broadest summer camps, she mentions. “We had women from Women in Aviation International, and we got to see their planes but couldn’t take photos of them because it was a secret.” Alba-Sommers highlights the summer camp activities, like visiting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and going on the planes Miss Piggy and Kermit, which are used to fly into hurricanes.
“There is this 11 year-old girl who came to summer camp, and she has decided she’s going to be a meteorologist for NOAA. I have to live in a box on the airport complex so that I will always stay in Lakeland and can hang out with her,” she retells. “It’s the cutest thing in the world, and it is so exciting to get to see girls that didn’t know much about [aviation] become so excited.”
“It’s just so amazing to get to see all these girls do this in such a safe environment. We’re giving them these spaces to explore without having boys telling them that they can’t do it.”
-Millie Alba-Sommers
Alba-Sommers finds outreach important in the representation of women in the aviation field. She feels as though the rise in social media has helped. “There are definitely improvements in [representation], but I think it’s something we’re going to see over time.” She mentions how many aviatrix, or female pilots, are underrepresented in media and throughout history. Amelia Earhart had a fashion line, Harriet Quimby had her special purple flight-suit, and Katherine Hepburn flew all the time with Howard Hughes. She mentions that you can not find any information about Katherine Hepburn flying, except for at the Florida Air Museum, as they have the largest Howard Hughes collection. Looking at women of the past is the first step in making the impact of women in aviation more known, says Alba-Sommers. She finds joy in educating others and finds that a main proponent of why she is always learning.
She plans to continue educating young girls that “this is something available to them.” She mentions that there are many opportunities to get involved in the aviation industry, not just by flying planes. There is artifact collecting for museums, writing articles, searching as TSA, and much more.
Alba-Sommers anticipates future summer camps with generations of girls wanting to learn more about what inspires her. If you or someone you know is interested in aviation, more information about the “She Can Fly” summer camp can be found at https://aceedu.org/programs/summer-camps/she-can-fly-summer-camp/ or call (863) 644-2431.