Dear Friends, Family, and Champions,

At a time when I think we can all use a little extra positive news, it is with joy and deep gratitude that I write to celebrate an incredible milestone in the life of a most remarkable young women in aviation—Miranda Gallagher. This fall, Miranda will be heading to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on a full-ride scholarship through the Air Force ROTC program. This moment is a testament to her dedication, the support of her extraordinary family, the encouragement of our aviation community, and the power of mentorship and hands-on learning.

Miranda’s journey into aviation began when she was just 11 years old. She attended a STEM summer camp at Franklin County Airport where she was handed a flyer highlighting a Free Young Eagle Flight with EAA Chapter 613. As fate would have it, her very first time lifting in a small airplane was with me, in Charlie, my green and white Cessna 150. 

This is a wonderful example of embodied learning. From that moment Miranda’s enthusiasm for aviation was undeniable.

She soaked up every opportunity to learn and grow, and her parents were her steadfast champions, seeking out every possible opportunity to help their daughter pursue her passion. They even enrolled her in our out-of-district aviation summer camp at the Taylor Aviation Center.

When the world shut down during COVID, George Coy and I took Miranda under our wings, and her parents placed their trust in us to guide her through what would become a defining period in her life. She spent half of her time interning with me at Big Picture Learning, where together we hosted conferences for folks in and around Vermont to cultivate personalized, purpose-driven learning environments (via Zoom) and held sessions for our EAA Chapter 613 youth aviators to connect. With George, Miranda and I worked on airplanes. She thrived in the hangar and was mentored by many who called George’s space their home away from home.

When it came time to go to high school, Miranda, her family, and I had several meetings in Genevieve’s luscious garden, and after much deliberation and an overabundance of strawberry consumption, Miranda decided to apply for the one lottery spot at Big Picture South Burlington.

It was a long shot. There were 6 people ahead of her for the sole place on the waiting list. I told her to not give up calling this into her reality — to see herself going to Big Picture in her mind’s eye. I couldn’t see her anywhere else — she had to go there. She and her family wrote letters and testified to the school board asking for the opportunity to access powerful learning in the only program that centered students in co-designing an individualized, real world high school pathway.

Literally one day before school started, Miranda got the call - she was in - but had to overcome one more hurdle – an interview. By that time, she really wanted it. This was the beginning of what I can only describe as Miranda honing her “manifestation moxie” and taking responsibility for co-creating her future alongside trusted adults.

Miranda learned how to advocate for herself, create opportunities where none seemed to exist, and set herself on a path toward success.

In her second year, with support from our aviation community, Miranda applied for and landed a prestigious internship as a Harbor Freight Fellow at BETA Technologies, an aerospace company in Vermont manufacturing electric flight. A sophomore at Big Picture, Miranda was likely the youngest intern they have ever had, aside from the Clark kids who grew up at BETA 😀.

I will forever be indebted to the team at BETA, to Harbor Freight Fellowship Initiative, to Big Picture, to her folks, and to George for what everyone saw and helped cultivate in Miranda — her boundless potential and unstoppable drive. Yes, she was young and had a lot to learn, but so many incredible humans went out of their way to play a significant role in this young person’s life. 

Over the years, Miranda grew from a shy middle schooler into a confident and eloquent leader. I will never forget the countless hours she, her mom, and I spent refining Miranda’s three-minute speeches, practicing them over and over until she barely could get through with coherence. I remember the time when George returned from her first exhibition of learning, head hanging low, and shared that she struggled through the whole thing — barely making it from beginning to end.

Slowly but surely, Miranda gained confidence, found her voice, strengthened it, and was invited to be featured in a Brief But Spectacular Future of Education series, which aired on PBS NewsHour, and highlighted the importance of mentorship and learning that’s relevant and relationship-based.

I couldn’t be more proud of her, truly. Oh! How far she has come!

Today, when we attend a women in leadership conference or have to make a pitch to a potential funder, like Burlington Rotary or 100 Women Who Care Franklin County, or to give countless tours of our “habitat”, Miranda always shows up read to represent. I barely need to say a word, she anticipates my thoughts and articulates them with grace, poise, and conviction.

Her hands-on experiences, from working on the AN-2 alongside George to mentoring the youngest members of our Women Build Planes program at Habitat for Aviation have shaped her into an unstoppable force and advocate for the industry.

I feel compelled to mention that when Miranda first came into my life she was not interested in going to college, and as those of you who know me best, I am not an advocate of college for all, so I did not at any point pressure Miranda into making a decision about her post-secondary plans. I mostly just listened and supported her choices, and they evolved over time. Last fall, she came to recognize the value of college as a viable post-secondary pathway for her — and as she looked into and investigated various options, I celebrated her sense of agency and choice-making.

Miranda is not only an exceptional builder, flyer, and mechanic, but she is also a role model for the next generation of women in aviation and a beloved friend. She was one of the biggest rocks for me while I went through breast cancer treatments. It was then that the transition between mentor and mentee began to flip and take on a certain reciprocity.

To think this is just beginning of her journey, I am in awe. Knowing Miranda is one of the greatest gifts I could have ever asked for.

Today, as she is working towards finishing her private pilots license, thanks to the generosity of EAA and the Ray Scholarship Program, and juggles early-college, our Rans S-21 build, keynoting at various conferences and speaking engagements, and her numerous extra curricular activities from robotics to fencing, I see evidence of Miranda transitioning from apprentice to mentor and back again. She is singlehandedly inspiring and guiding youth by excitedly and unabashedly sharing personal wisdom and the years of knowledge she gained from George, from the folks at BETA, from our EAA family, and from Habitat for Aviation with everyone she encounters.

Miranda has been a part of my daily and weekly life since she was 12 years old. The thought of her heading off to college leaves me with a bittersweet, empty-nest feeling — I can only imagine what her parents must be experiencing. Yet, as much as I will miss her, I am filled with pride and excitement knowing that she will be studying aeronautical engineering and will one day return to us with even greater expertise, ready to make our aviation landscape stronger.

We are incredibly lucky that Miranda is staying in New England, and we are already looking forward to her visits during breaks — flying to open-hangar events and catching up on all the incredible things she is learning and experiencing. I can’t wait. 

This milestone was not achieved alone — it is the result of an incredible and supportive community that believes in the power of learning by doing, learning alongside mentors, learning through youth-adult partnerships, learning that involves finding what makes one’s heart’s sing — learning in the real world.

To all who played a role in Miranda’s journey, directly and indirectly — you know who you are — I am profoundly grateful. Thank you for being part of her story and for helping her reach this incredible chapter in her life.

With immense gratitude and excitement for what lies ahead,

Beth White
Founder & Pilot-in-Command
Habitat for Aviation

P.S. Thanks to Zoë Brosky, Habitat for Aviation Ground Crew, for so many of these amazing photos!

P.S. Here are some links to learn more about us….

• 2023-2024 Annual Report

• Habitat for Aviation White Paper

• Habitat for Aviation LinkTree with videos and articles about us, including a Brief But Spectacular segment on PBS NewsHour

• A Habitat for Aviation “Snapshot”