Hi everyone! My name is Crystal Getsemani Gomez. I’m 24 years old and I’m a female Mexican pilot.
I started my aviation journey when I was 19 years old. I grew up in a Mexican household with my parents not knowing any English and starting from nothing coming over. I always wanted to give back to my parents for everything they blessed me with, they never gave up on me and always told me “échale ganas” which is a term that means don’t give up, keep fighting.
When I was a little girl, I always wanted to be different. I always said if a guy can do it why can’t I? I love saying: “I am my father’s daughter”. I started working at the age of 16 and everywhere I would go I would leave a strong impression because of my work ethic. During a shift I was listening to a conversation about my friend’s father who was a pilot. That caught my attention right away because I always wanted to do things no other girl would normally do. I asked questions and I got hooked. I asked him “can girls do it”? He said yes, I laughed and said “really?!”
I normally see older men as the pilots and the females as flight attendants when I travel. At this moment I thought to myself: “oh yes this is my time”. That same month I went to orientation and the following month I went to flight school and became the first pilot ever in my family. Just this was one of my proudest achievements I have ever reached for me and for my family. It was a struggle at first, but I had the support the entire way. I went to school at Aerosim Flight Academy (now L3Harris) located at Sanford, Florida. It was intimidating at first because it was just me and another girl in this school filled with all males. But that’s what made us different, and we helped each other along the way.
At first, I honestly didn’t know what I was doing! My parents couldn’t help but they did their all knowing that I was on my own in school. My father only made it to third grade and my mother was taken out at fifth grade to work and take care of her family. Throughout my training I struggled but I never gave up I always remembered of what my dad would tell me: “échale ganas”.
I made amazing friends and they helped and steered me on the right path. I did have those type of obstacles that you can brush off or tell otherwise. I used those obstacles a fuel to my fire and worked harder and harder.
I finished my training and became a Certified Flight Instructor. L3Harris gave a me an amazing opportunity and I never looked back. I love working as a Flight Instructor, the biggest achievement is when I see my students not giving up and becoming what they want to be! I become their number one fan in everything they do, so they know that I’m here to help whenever they don’t believe in themselves or someone tells them otherwise. I always tell my students, if I can do it you can do it as well, but you have to do the work as nothing in this life is given.
Prove them wrong and always believe you can do it. No matter where you come from or who you are you have to make yourself. You will carry yourself to where you want to be because nobody else will at the end of the day. Échale Ganas.