Transforming Fear into Abnormal Attitudes with Cecilia Aragon - First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team, Scientist, Author

Jul 8

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I dare you to not be inspired by what Dr. Cecilia Rodriguez Aragon has done with her life. In today’s episode Cecilia shares her story of moving through fear, learning to fly and dismantling the perceived limitations that gripped her imagination. For little girls and women aspiring to achieve great things, it’s the story of overcoming incredible barriers and achieving your dreams. And for the rest, it’s a reminder of the consequences of unexamined implicit bias, privilege, bullying, and negativity.
The slow therapy of discipline, repetition, and consistency alongside the ability to literally turn the perspective of the world upside down in aerobatics – marks when she really started to soar.

An uplifting conversation, we draw on references to her recent memoir Flying Free: My Victory over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team that tells the exhilarating story of how she broke free from her own fears to become a champion pilot.

We dive into how she went from timid, fearful daughter of immigrants to daredevil airshow pilot while raising children and asking hard questions of the data science industry.

Cecilia’s multiple talents include champion aerobatic pilot, many times author, fluency in 4 four languages and professor in human centered data science. Her innovative research, and a stint at NASA designing software for Mars missions, led President Obama to call her “one of the top scientists and engineers in the country.”

"I think it's great to think about others, but you should not do that to the exclusion of yourself, because the women I know have so much to offer. The world needs their minds and their brilliance!" — Cecilia Aragon

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