How one UW professor defeated fear to become an aerobatics champ

How does someone afraid of taking an elevator end up strapped upside down in a tiny plane thousands of feet above the ground For UW Professor Cecilia Aragon, that transformation began when she said yes to a friend who took her flying and led to her becoming the first Latina pilot on the U. S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team, the Olympics of aviation. This short film explores her lifechanging journey from being a novice pilot with an intense fear of heights to becoming an aerobatics champion flying complicated loops, rolls and spins. Emboldened by her success in the sky, Aragon completed her doctorate and embarked on a teaching career, eventually becoming the first Latina full professor in the UW College of Engineering. Aragon, a faculty member inthe Department of Human Centered Design Engineering, chronicled her experiences inher 2020 memoir, Flying Free.