Ciara is half Irish. This is certainly something to be proud of and she carries with her the admirable qualities of the green isle. Her resilience will serve her well as she goes through her training years and the unknown period of time after - as she seeks her first paid flying role. She is loyal to her communities and commits 100% to anything she does.
She has lived in Whenuapai, in the same house her parents bought 16 years ago, since she was two. She has pushed through crippling shyness to become a veritable social butterfly in aviation circles. It was only in the last couple of years that she realised that for her whole life, being a pilot was the only career she has ever considered. It seems aviation is truly in her blood. There is no doubting her passion to be a pilot. It’s soaked into her soul having lived 16 of her 18 years right by an Air Force airbase and sharing with her mother, the pleasures of admiring and photographing aircraft as a hobby. From as soon as she could, she joined the Young Eagles and also raised money to attend the esteemed Walsh Flying Camp. With her family’s addiction to football, she will do well in the male orientated aviation universe.
Ciara (right) and another of our winners, Luka, with their Young Eagles certificates.
‘Calm and unflappable’ is how she has been described several times, in various ways, by her referees and school reports. Someone who quietly gets on with it without fanfare or drawing attention to herself. She is a strategic planner and has taken a gap year between finishing school and starting flight training to earn as much money as she can to have a good war chest behind her. With many clear and outright comments about her calm manner and no nonsense attitude to getting the work done (whatever the ‘work’ may be), we recognise someone who has the temperament and commitment to make her way through the difficult time, post qualification, to secure her first paying role as a pilot.
Ciara had an excellent school era. A good and steady student, Ciara was liked by all her teachers at St Dominic’s Catholic College. Her glowing reports reference her quiet but can-do nature and determination to get the best results she could. She finished NCEA Level 3 with a merit endorsement.
She finished her schooling after collecting 21 awards and citations for effort and achievements in all her studies, diligence, dragon boat racing, football and a NIWA science and technology fair. Her school chose to sponsor her for a 21 day Outward Bound course which she completed in October 2024.
Last year, she participated in the Gateway programme, working through the Aeroscience module completing four credits.
She played in the school’s first XI team for her last two seasons and was Captain for the 2025 season. She also coached the Year 7 and 8 football teams. Advancing her family’s passion for football, Ciara is a member of the West Auckland Football Club Women’s Team and volunteers as a fundraiser for her old school’s Football teams.
Ciara (third left, rear) and her football team
She is also a member of the Whenuapai Aero Club.
Our application form asks a hard question of our applicants – ‘Why should we choose you?’ Ciara’s answer was a no brainer for her but resonated with us. She wrote, ‘Aviation has never felt like just an interest to me; it feels like home. It’s the first place where I’ve truly felt I belonged….. I’m the friend constantly looking up and dreaming big whenever an A320 or B777 passes overhead, as I see my future’. When interviewing her mother, she also said even during hard core football games, if a plane flies overhead, Ciara cannot help but look up at it.
Ciara has nearly 20 flight hours and her flight instructor, who is a retired Senior Training captain for Cathay Pacific and holds an ‘A’ cat Instructor licence, comments that Ciara has a particularly good ability to absorb flight instruction and her attitude and work ethic is a credit to her.
Ciara’s mum credits attending the Walsh Memorial Scout Flying School in January 2025 as bringing to an end Ciara’s shyness and reserved nature. She made loads of friends at the camp and developed a confidence in life that had been missing previously. Ciara raised the funds she needed to attend the camp. She was also a Young Eagles cadet at the North Shore Aero Club.
She has chosen to become a Flight Instructor as soon as she can as she recognises that is likely the best route to getting to the airlines. Ciara starts her training with Southern Wings at their Ardmore Base in February next year. We heartily approve this decision. We look forward to watching Ciara’s progress towards the airlines.
