Whanganui air cadet one step closer to Air Force career after School to Skies camp

School to Skies instructors and students at RNZAF Base Auckland, Whenuapai.

At 17 years old, Whanganui Girls’ College prefect Abbie Hurlimann already knows a fair bit about the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), having spent the majority of her teenage years as an air cadet flight sergeant.

But she’s now one step closer to her ambition of joining the Air Force after attending the School to Skies Wāhine Camp at RNZAF Base Auckland in Whenuapai last week.

“I’ve been an air cadet for four years now and I’ve learned a lot about leadership and resilience, but the camp will help me decide what trade I want to follow when I join the Air Force,” she said.

The RNZAF School to Skies programme is a technical- and aviation-focused experience for female Year 13 students to promote, encourage and attract young women to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and aviation careers.

The students learn about the technical components of keeping aircraft flying, military skills and personal development during the free six-day learning camp.

School to Skies project lead Squadron Leader Matthew Pitts said the programme was designed to show young women what was possible in the STEM field.

Whanganui Girls' College teacher Robyn Gorton with school prefect Abbie Hurlimann.

“The students get to observe various pathways they may not be aware of and rub shoulders with relatable roles within those workplaces,” he said.

“About 42% of all our current serving female aircraft technicians have gone through the School to Skies programme. The students saw our female technicians at work and realised it’s an achievable pathway.”

Abbie was inspired to apply for the camp after her former teacher attended a School to Skies teachers’ camp earlier this year.

Students learn about avionics and aircraft maintenance at the camp.

The camp provided teachers with new educational tools and ideas, as well as introducing them to the Defence Force career opportunities available to their students.

“I had the privilege of attending the School to Skies Teachers’ Edition Camp and since then I haven’t stopped talking about it to my students,” Whanganui Girls’ College teacher Robyn Gorton said.

“I was so inspired to take my experience back to the classroom and teach my students how to apply real-world examples of chemistry and physics. I’m trained in biology and I’ve been a medic, but if I was 30 years younger I’d be signing up.”

Abbie said she had a blast on the camp and it helped to broaden her horizons.

“The highlights were all the new people I met, getting to tour the Hercules and Boeing aircraft, and seeing so many trades I didn’t know about.”