WOODINVILLE, Wash. — A 17-year-old from Woodinville is breaking barriers in the world of aviation.
Ishitha Arekapudi earned her Private Pilot License for Power Flight on October 13, making her one of the few female pilots of color to achieve this milestone at such a young age. This achievement is the latest chapter in Ishitha’s mission to redefine the conventional image of pilots and encourage more young women of color to pursue careers in aviation.
“Growing up I feel like we were all told ‘the sky is the limit for you’ when someone’s done something great; I grew up with that too and that hurt me so much because I was like, well, that doesn’t include me anymore,” Ishitha told KIRO 7 News.
Ishitha says her love for aviation began when she moved to the Seattle area at the age of 12.
“It’s the aviation hub; it’s where major airlines are, you hear people talk about Boeing all the time, and was really new to me.”
She says it inspired her to explore opportunities she’d never been exposed to before. In the 8th grade, she attended a lecture by a Blue Origin Payload Specialist that was a pivotal moment for her. She says she decided she wanted to become an astronaut and began researching the steps to make her dream a reality.
“At the time I thought, okay well this is not something I can do now, maybe in my 20s or 30s I can pursue it but there’s nothing I can do because what 14-year-old thinks they can start flying?”
Ishitha says her father discovered a program called the Young Eagles, which is dedicated to giving children ages 8–17 an opportunity to go flying in a general aviation airplane. She went up for the first time in December 2020 and says she was hooked. Her mentor in the program showed her that she could solo in a glider at 14, so she began working towards getting her license.
“To me, that was insane! You can’t even get your driver’s permit at that age,” she told KIRO 7 News.
Now she is working on becoming a certified airline pilot. Ishitha’s private pilot training took place at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where she made history as the first-ever student pilot to train at the prestigious military base.
To help young aspiring pilots get their start, Ishitha has founded a non-profit initiative, Sky Riders which provides access to flight scholarships, pilot training, and STEM opportunities to underserved youth. It started as a club that she created in middle school to help her peers learn about aviation, have a sense of community, and find scholarship opportunities.
“When I began, I didn’t think it would be a big thing,” she said.
Ishitha told KIRO 7 that she was so shocked by the number of people who would attend their flight rallies that she decided to expand the club beyond her school and eventually transform it into a nonprofit to reach even more people. Anyone interested in joining Sky Riders can reach out to her on her Instagram.
Looking ahead, Ishitha says she wants to become an astronaut, combining her passions for astrobiology and aeronautical engineering.