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T
he advice Captain Stacy Sheard gives to young people during ‘career
day’ school visits is “find those things you love the most and find a way
that you can do all of them”.
Sheard certainly found a way to satisfy her early captivation for
helicopters. Starting out as a Russian Linguist might seem a roundabout
way to become a pilot, but Sheard did so in order to establish the credibility
that would make her worthy of selection for the United States Army Warrant
Officer Flight School. Serving as an Army pilot alone makes her quite
accomplished, but that isn’t all there is to Stacy Sheard.
Since transitioning to civil flying Sheard has further expanded her
experience in charter and tourism, Emergency Medical Services, news
gathering and filming, and general aviation. Sheard also spent time as a
production test pilot for Sikorsky, as a flight instructor and is currently
employed in the domain of corporate transport. She also earned both
Bachelor and Masters of Science Degrees in Aeronautics from the Embry-
Riddle Aeronautical University.
Despite that very full resume, Sheard felt
compelled to further her involvement in the
industry by including something else she loves.
“I like giving back, it’s been one of the greatest
things I’ve been able to do”.
Sheard has long been a Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM)
mentor, inspiring young women to pursue
non-traditional careers. “I don’t think girls
are encouraged to much accomplishment in
general. I don’t think we are asked to rise to the
occasion outside of traditional ways. I think that
if you show a little girl possibilities she will rise
to the occasion if she so desires”. Sheard had
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no STEM role models growing up, rather, when she decided at a very
young age that she wanted to fly helicopters, she was confronted
with the discouragement evident on the faces of all those she shared
those thoughts with. But she pursued it anyway.
Sheard joined the Army believing that no matter how much they
would put her through she would not give up on her ambition to
qualify as a pilot. “It was hard to keep focused because there was
quite a bit of hazing. Sometime I thought is it me or them? I didn’t
know, and it started to affect how I was thinking. All I could do was
try to bring a voice of reason and keep it really low on the emotion,
and that was hard”.
“I survived it and am all the better for it, and most people never
had a clue that I battled anything.”
“I’ve had lots of people who didn’t want to fly with me, both pilots
and passengers.
It’s silly and I usually spend no time with it, but sometimes I cant
help it and think ‘I’ve been through all this and now I have to deal
with you, and obviously I don’t know where you’re getting your
opinions from but you’re not very well educated’. It’s tough to deal
with that and it’s a waste of my time. I’d be stopping my whole
world to be educating everyone with that attitude. If someone can’t
get their brain around it quick enough I move on, move forward,
eventually they will when there is enough of us.”
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Despite those experiences, Sheard doesn’t think she would
change much, “I am really happy where I am now, as strange as
it is, it’s made me who I am.” And she even continues her military
affiliation by helping out other pilots wanting to transition to
civil aviation. To do so she writes articles, engages in mentoring,
networking and presents at both Helicopter Association International
(HAI) and US Army Aviation Association Military-to-Civilian Transition
seminars and workshops.
Sheard is also the Chair of the HAI Pilot Mentoring Panel,
encouraging seasoned professionals to share advice and expertise
with flight school students and graduates, as well other pilots in
the industry. “I’m seeing that maybe I have had an effect in a way
because I’m seeing that a lot of the people who have at least been
exposed to some sort of mentoring have been doing really well”.
And the single most critical piece of advice that Sheard shares is:
“Network”. She believes that in the helicopter industry, face-to-face
networking is number one. “People should realise how far it goes to
befriend others who do absolutely anything in this industry. Just a
little bit of effort making contact with people on a personal level is
a huge investment in your career. And helping others along makes
a big difference”. Sheard is convinced that those passionate about
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their careers in the helicoptering can only add to overall success
of the industry. “We all have the same carrot, if we all grow each
other in the industry we all realise how important it is to be safe. A
helicopter crash makes headlines no matter where in the world, any
one incident affects all of us”.
Sheard has recently been appointed a Board Director of HAI
and she witnessed at her first meeting how much individuals could
strengthen the industry. “It’s awesome to be in a room full of board
members that have that same passion. I was so blown away by the
whole thing.” HAI’s mission is to provide members with services
that directly benefit operations and to advance the international
helicopter community. What Sheard brings to the table is her
experience with networking and mentoring. She has seen the positive
benefits to individuals and the flow on to the industry and now has a
platform from which to continue on much larger scale.
There is no doubt that Sheard lives by the advice she gives young
people looking for direction. She has found a way to do all of the
things she loves most: as a helicopter pilot, a career mentor, an
industry speaker, and as an HAI board member.
But what is most exciting for the industry is that she is nowhere
near done yet. HO