Holly Csaszar, BS ‘23, and Victoria Lorenzon, BS ‘22, are certified flight instructors who learned everything they know about aeronautics while students at Kent State University's College of Aeronautics and Engineering.
The young women bring their knowledge and skill to the job force as they work as certified flight instructors at the Kent State University Airport, a job that allows them to train future pilots as they obtain the hours and experience they need to become commercial airline pilots, all while earning a paycheck.
Lorenzon and Csaszar are proud to count themselves among an increasing number of women flight instructors at Kent State University Airport. Out of the 50 flight instructors at the airport, eight, or 16%, are women, which represents double the national average of women flight instructors, said Brian Neff, assistant dean of flight and operations within the College of Aeronautics and Engineering.
The college’s flight program relies heavily on its flight instructors to teach the students in the professional pilot degree program, Neff said. Many of the instructors are either recent graduates of the program or students finishing the degree.
There are seven more female flight instructors in training who are expected to be online by the end of the year.
“I have been part of the professional pilot program for over 15 years, and we have never been close to these numbers,” Neff said.
Lorenzon also won the Certified Flight Instructor of the Year Award at the National Intercollegiate Flight Association (NIFA) SAFECON competition, which includes instructors from the top 30 collegiate flight schools in the country. This is the second year in a row that a woman flight instructor from Kent State has won this award.
Csaszar of Webster, New York, said it is inspirational for young girls and women to see increasing numbers of women in aviation fields.
“Seeing women, people that look like you, in positions that you are interested in, helps us visualize ourselves in those positions. If a young girl sees female pilots, it makes them that much more likely to see themselves as able to be female pilots. It gives us the opportunity to be role models for other people out there who want to do what we do.”
As flight instructors, Lorenzon and Csaszar are responsible for providing flight and ground instructions, flight lessons and instructions in the flight simulator. Lorenzon has five students while Csaszar has six students.
“Instructing is a really invaluable job because you gain that on-the-field experience,” said Lorenzon. “Sometimes students ask you questions that you would not have thought to ask. Then, in terms of flight time, I have about 900 hours, which is the second reason I am doing this job. I need 1,000 hours to get to the airlines or to qualify to move on to the regional airlines. It is one of the easier ways to build flight time.”
Lorenzon earned her flight instructor certification in December 2021, which is required for graduation. She started teaching in January 2022.
“Most of us are taking the next step to move on to the airlines, the corporate world or the military," Lorenzon said.
Currently, Lorenzon has a Nov. 6, 2023, “class date” with Endeavor Air and she is in the Delta Propel program.
Lorenzon’s father, Jason, is an aviation law instructor at Kent State. He was her flight instructor when she was attending Firestone High School for the Arts. She was 16 when she had her first flight lesson and was “bitten by the aviation bug."
Lorenzon said she had checked out other college aviation programs but fell in love with Kent State because “it’s not just an aviation university.” There is a sense of community and comradery at Kent State, she said.
Csaszar has been a flight instructor since August 2022 and she has just over 500 of the 1,000 hours she needs to go to a connector carrier such as Endeavor, Skywest or Republic.
“What struck me about Kent State’s program is its transparency," she said. "We are told that flight training is going to be hard. They are honest with us. They have a high level of integrity, high standards and an overall culture of safety and respect.”