“…..I had such a great time this week with your kids! They are wonderful, smart, funny, sweet and engaging. This was my first year to be a Station Manager and they definitely made it memorable. I told them they set the bar high for my group next year. We LUVed this week of Summer Camp with your students, and we hope to see your Campers here again next year or as a future Southwest Employee soon! LUV,…” – Christy Lermer, Senior Instructor, Leadership & Employee Training, Southwest Airlines.
This June, GenHERation partnered with Southwest Airlines to bring five of their members to the annual Southwest Summer Camp at the Dallas headquarters, allowing us to get an insight into the airlines ways. As a GenHERation member from Edmond, Oklahoma and a rising senior at the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, wanting to become an entrepreneur, I decided to apply.
I’d wanted to submit an application to the camp for several reasons – foremost, I’m an aerospace nerd. A few weeks before, I had the chance to visit a local Boeing facility in Oklahoma City, and I’d spent an entire day excitedly asking everything I could about planes. Coming to visit Southwest would be the cherry on top, letting me learn about entrepreneurship in a field that I was already enraptured by.
When I heard that I was accepted to the camp, I started out confused. I thought I still had to go through an interview, but I’d actually gotten in instead! Who was I to turn down a chance to see those Boeing planes in action?
As the days in Dallas neared, I was more and more thrilled, not knowing what was in store for me. We received an itinerary for the camp before the start – at a glance, I knew that the days were packed. I was most excited for the promised tour of maintenance hangar, where we could see planes in all stages of disrepair. However, I still wondered, who would be at the camp with me? What would I get to see behind the scenes of an airline?
The first day I flew in to Dallas, there was a welcoming/kickoff party. Imagine my shock to learn that over 150 kids from all across the country would be attending the camp! We were all split into groups of about 6, named after airports in Southwest’s network. As soon as I met our supervisor Christy Lermer, a Senior Instructor from Leadership & Employee Training, that first day, I discovered a key part of culture at Southwest: family. Christy welcomed me as if she had known me for years, helping me integrate with the other kids, who were mostly children of employees. Over the week, I saw many more examples of the innate family atmosphere, such as Courtney Miller from Campus Reach, who took time out of her schedule to coordinate our visit.
Each day, we all came to the Training and Operational Support center, where we had several speakers, including an overview of many of the careers that Southwest can offer. It was quite eye-opening to see all fields of work converging to help keep Southwest running. The second day was my favorite, since we took a tour of the several buildings. I was super excited to get a picture sitting in a Boeing-737 cockpit, as if I was a pilot!
Looking back, I’m not surprised I had so much fun. I had the chance to meet with many kids whose parents worked with Southwest Airlines, or SWA as they called it affectionately. Above all the things I learned, the biggest takeaway was the nature of the Southwest family. It really was endearing to see the way everyone treated each other, even if they were from across the country and had never met before. All the experiences I gained talking with Southwest employees opened my eyes to possible career paths that I can take to my entrepreneurship goals. I cannot thank Katlyn, Erika, and GenHERation enough for their continuous dedication and for allowing me this opportunity! I know that this experience will last me a long time coming.