Ashley Gentry

MY STORY:

I am 27-years-old. I have an amazing family- my husband Russell, my 2-year-old daughter Kyrie, and 8-month-old son Lincoln. I am currently a stay-at-home mom and a Student Private Pilot. I am passionate about aviation; I love to read others' experiences and perspectives of flight training, so I am sharing mine as well. This is one experience I never want to forget!

I grew up in Laurinburg, NC and worked as a pharmacy technician for over 7 years at the local hospital since I was 16 years old. I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life (who does at that age?) but I went straight in to college after high school to Campbell University, later transferring to UNC Pembroke, then UNC Charlotte after shuffling through majors. My college years were nothing but uncertainty.. I could not find anything I really loved doing, and after the completely unexpected death of my step-dad, I struggled. I felt so lost. I weighed soo many options/career choices, and nothing seemed like the right choice. I went from a pre-pharmacy major, psychology major, nursing major, science education in 3 years, and finally transferred to UNC Charlotte for Geology after taking an 8-day geology trip to the desert southwest which was an optional Summer Science course at UNC Pembroke. I decided geology would be my thing. After all, I loved the outdoors; I loved studying the earth and its processes; so this had to be it. I got my BS in Geology degree in 2011, and just prior to that, the job market looked somewhat promising for new grads (companies were finally coming out of the recession). My original plan was to move out west for a job in Texas, Oklahoma, or Arizona where the jobs were abundant for new grads, but I didn't anticipate Russell and I getting married and deciding to start a family soon after graduation. It wasn't until after my daughter came that I decided I really didn't want to move our family half-way across the country.. and with no luck finding a job in Charlotte, I was back to square-one.

Eventually I started flight training to get my Private Pilot's License in June 2014. Check out my blog to read about my experience at wordpress.com/ashley8A6, starting with "How Not To Pursue Your Dreams."