Success After Solebury School

Athena Lin ’07
University of Wisconsin-Madison 2011
Pilot, EVA AIR

“Cinnie’s ESL classes gave me a solid foundation in English, a skill that I have to use daily on the job for radio communication with air traffic controllers and for coordination with my crew members.” —Athena

As an international student, Athena Lin attended high school thousands of miles away from the comforts of home, but she found herself in good care at Solebury School, where she also discovered a vibrant and challenging learning environment. “As an international student away from home, I learned to be independent and strong. As a result, I’ve always tried to push myself out of my comfort zone in order to learn more,” said Athena. “The diversity at Solebury gave me an opportunity to explore my interests in various fields, whether an academic class or extracurricular activity. With my education and experience at Solebury, I know that I can be everything that I want to be, as long as I work hard and follow my heart.”

At Solebury, Athena also found a mentor in ESL Director Cinnie Wappel. “Cinnie cared about every student like we were her own. She always motivated us to be better. Her dedication to her work is admirable,” Athena said of Cinnie, the teacher whose influence stretched beyond the fundamentals of English. “I learned a lot of life lessons from her, [values] such as discipline, responsibility, honesty, humility, compassion, and a strong work ethic.”

Athena applied those values in college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (“Go, Badgers!”), where she continued her American education and earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. She also holds a Certification of Engineer in Training from NCEES (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying®).

Today, the sky is not just the limit, it’s Athena’s office. She is currently one of just 50 female pilots out of the 1200 who fly with her company, and she has logged more than 1,000 flight hours as a Type Rated in B747-400 First Officer. Her routes include Taipei to Anchorage, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore.

—Spring 2018

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