Meet Samantha Olson — Young Eagles Program Assistant

May  2022 – Hi everyone, I’m Samantha, the newest Young Eagles program assistant here at EAA. I started my employment journey at EAA in May 2021 as the seasonal communities administrative assistant, doing work with AirVenture forums and SportAir Workshops. Once AirVenture 2021 was through, I was hired on full-time into my current position within the chapters department. My EAA roots go back as far as I can remember.

Growing up in Berlin, Wisconsin, only 20 minutes from the EAA Aviation Museum, I was exposed to the world of EAA and aviation at a young age. Working here at EAA has been a full-circle journey for me. EAA has always had a place in the Olson household. There were many Sam Lyons airplane paintings found throughout my childhood home that Dad had acquired at AirVenture over the years. My grandmother had worked in the museum gift shop when I was very young, so my father would take us to the museum to visit her and to explore KidVenture. In addition, my father and I would go to AirVenture almost every year since I was born, missing only two in my life. It was the most exciting week of the year to us; AirVenture and aviation was the thing that would bring my father and I together.

Working with the Young Eagles and Eagle Flight programs, I get the opportunity to help spread the love and true spirit of aviation. While I never had the opportunity to become a Young Eagle myself, my older brother took his Young Eagles flight at Pioneer Airport here in Oshkosh once he became of age, so I knew a bit about the programs coming into my position. I was brought into the chapters family and it reignited a spark in me for the Young Eagles program, almost as if I had my own flight. This program also continues to spark the dreams of more than 2 million kids to date, and shows them the possibilities are endless, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this inspiring program.