The Art of Aviation: Julie Thiele's Journey to Alaska Airlines
Published by Tom Thinnes on Thu, Mar 31, 2016
The path of life winds around, twisting and turning until we eventually find ourselves heading in the correct direction. While we often begin heading one way, we soon find ourselves detoured towards another destination. Slowly, but surely the navigation begins to make sense and our end point comes into focus. For many in the aviation industry, the pathway into the field became crystal clear soon after their first aviation experience. For Julie Thiele, the allure of aviation was like a fine wine. It took time.
Growing up in Midland, MI, Thiele’s focus was anywhere but the clouds. During her formative years, art and drama played a critical part in her development. “Yep, you can definitely say, ‘I was a drama and art junky’ in high school,” recalls Thiele. The time spent in the field of fine arts had paid off too. Not only was she very involved in these fields; her success was rewarded with a scholarship to attend art school. For most high school graduates, a scholarship would help to solidify their post-secondary pursuits. Thiele had other ideas.
When asked, “How she became involved in aviation?” Thiele, uncharacteristically for this industry, laughingly responds with an “I don’t know!” Although possessing a strong artistic skill and scholarship, ultimately she didn’t know what she wanted to do. “I credit my Dad, who is now a retired high school counselor, in helping me get to where I am today, a Captain for Alaska Airlines,” Thiele stated. “Ultimately, he supported me in whatever endeavors I wanted to pursue. The day I came home from Western Michigan University, I’m pretty sure I shocked him.”
On a whim, Thiele headed to WMU with some fellow students who were attending orientation at the University. Reflecting on the visit, Thiele remembers, “By the time I got home, I was signed up for both engineering and aviation courses!” Although she had never been in a plane before, she walked through the door and announced, “I’m going to take a few engineering classes, maybe a flight course!” Needless to say, her mom and dad were surprised - very supportive, but incredibly surprised. To this day, Thiele can’t remember if the decision was fostered by the recommendation of WMU counselors, or if she just thought it would be neat!
Although honing in on engineering and aviation, Thiele’s path was far from set. After graduating Midland High School in 1987, she started the pursuit of her bachelor’s degree at WMU the following fall. As a female entering into the male dominated field of engineering and aviation, Thiele often found herself on the outside of these groups. With very few other females in the curriculum, the courses and career were very intimidating. “When I began my degree,” she remembered, “I had no aviation experience what-so-ever. I was missing a lot of the common ground shared by other students in the program. Therefore, making connections was a challenge.”
As Thiele immersed herself into her aviation and engineering courses, there was one constant – caring faculty and staff. While engaged in these classes, Thiele was still trying to figure out her place. “I remember taking a class with Ron Sackett,” she said. “He suggested I take a flight lesson – it didn’t go well! I fought my way through five lessons and was consistently plagued with motion sickness. I figured my aviation option was over.” As a result, Thiele focused on engineering, but decided to try her hand at another aviation course – for some reason, the field of aviation kept enticing her back in.
Finally in her third year at WMU, Thiele decided to pursue her private pilots license. She was going to make a go of this. Overcoming her motion sickness and working with her certified flight instructor Gary Wolf, Thiele soloed at 30 hours and earned her license around 90. She was on her way!
While Thiele was a student, she explored many of the options in the field of aviation. “I played around in the aviation maintenance side of the house for a while and loved it!” she recalled. “But when I listened to the pilots coming back from their lessons, I witnessed first hand their passion. Soon, I was experiencing the same passion they were. I fell in love with aviation and couldn’t believe I could make a living and get paid to do this!”
Life can be sneaky. Unsuspecting activities and events can often times play a major role later in life. For Thiele, this was an innocuous term paper! As she recalled, “While a student at WMU, I had to write a paper on aviation technology. As I mentioned, I didn’t have a very strong background in aviation, so I picked up the magazine Aviation Space and Technology and did my research on the featured company: Alaska Airlines. They were using things like heads-up display, EGPWS (enhanced ground proximity warning system), RNP, and other things which sounded pretty technical to me!” Sometimes the littlest things in life have the biggest impact.
After graduating from Western Michigan University in 1992 with her bachelors in Aviation Engineering Technology and Operations, the WMU alumna set out to chart her destiny. Through the competent instruction of faculty members like Ron Sackett, Tom Deckard and Larry Hoikka, Thiele knew she had the academic basis and skills to make it. Her only challenge was how. As one of very few females pursuing an aviation degree at the time, her network was pretty small. Remembering the support and encouragement she consistently received from her mother and father, Thiele was determined to make it happen.
At one point in her academic career, Thiele had read an article about “Want to be an airline pilot?” In this article, there were bullet points with 30 different boxes that needed to be checked. Placing this on her refrigerator, Thiele got out her pen and starting placing check marks. The old saying, “ignorance is bliss” is useful for a lot of people. Instead of dwelling on the long road, Thiele attacked her check boxes with a vengeance. With the naivety of a wide-eyed, excited recent college grad, Thiele went after the first thing she knew she had to do: build time. Moving to Los Angeles, CA she began her search by visiting EVERY airport in Southern California. Ultimately she ended up securing, what she says was the “best gig EVER!” Thiele became a freelance flight instructor for a flying club.
As the boxes slowly began to get checked, the understanding of the aviation industry began to coalesce around her. Western Michigan University had prepared her well – it kept her on the path. To this day, one thing she wishes she could change was her involvement at the University. “As I mentioned, it was an intimidating environment being one of the very few females. So, unfortunately, I didn’t get very involved. I truly fell in love with aviation at WMU, I just wish I would have been more a part of everything, especially the clubs.”
Regardless of the past, Thiele attacked her present with the passion she had witnessed during her earlier years at WMU. Spring boarding off of the knowledge she gained at the University, she began to get involved with the Women in Aviation organization and the 99s. All that she previously learned came into focus as her involvement in the industry grew. In addition, looking at her list and seeing the “make connections” box, her network began to expand as well.
While spending time as a freelance flight instructor, a blast from the past entered her world. While in Los Angeles, a company named Jet America was based at the airport she was currently flight instructing at. After some careful research and seeing the “Eskimo” paint scheme, the connection was made between Jet America and Alaska Airlines – the company that intrigued her so much writing that earlier term paper. The circle had come back around and Thiele had set her sights on working for this company.
After time, not only would Thiele be hired by Alaska Airlines, she would also rise to the position of captain. Looking back on that time, Thiele recalls, “I created my own pathway to the captain’s seat of Alaska. I worked as a flight instructor, flew for Ameriflight, involved myself with WAI and the 99s, etc. I was determined to get to Alaska, and it couldn’t be any better!”
Working for Alaska Airlines is a dream come true for Thiele. “They are an incredible company,” she said. “Ultimately, they are the only airline I ever applied for. I set my sights on them and was determined to work for them. They are a family orientated company and have an incredible culture.” Thiele’s passion for aviation is definitively felt when talking about the flying, “The route structure is amazing! I live in Alaska, fly Boeing 737s into areas that normally only Cessnas fly into. The flying we do, the technology we use to get into grooved out airports in the middle of channels and mountains – it is amazing. We have an elite group of pilots doing things no one else is doing. However, my favorite part is still the people!”
Thiele’s passion goes beyond the cockpit of her 737. She continues to support WAI and is instrumental in acting as a mentor, guide and supporter of other females interested in pursuing aviation as a career. Her one word of advice, “Involvement – get involved and use your resources. I didn’t, and it made my journey a little more challenging. Take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself. Just like an insignificant research paper, you’ll never know where something might take you.”
When talking with Thiele, her love and passion for aviation fills the room. While life occasionally detours us around, we usually find our destination. While Thiele’s earlier life was filled with art and theater, she found her true calling: aviation. When asked about the difference between art and aviation, Thiele answers brilliantly, “I still paint today, but I love to fly! Flying is just a different type of art.”