She can fly too | Rola Hoteit | TEDxUSJ

In her talk, Rola Hoteit teaches women how to overcome the gender-based stereotypes set by our society.
Rola Hoteit is the first female pilot at Middle East Airlines.
Hoteit’s story began with a challenge from one of her colleagues at the American University of Beirut, where she was completing her BS in Mathematics, when her colleague carried a newspaper that has an advertisement about recruiting new pilots, including females at MEA, mocking that “women cannot drive a car, how will they be able to fly a plane?” Her colleague’s words pushed her to apply to MEA, to be the only female from the 9 accepted applicants out of almost 2000. Hoteit later traveled to Scotland to continue her studies and have her trainings in Scotland’s Aviation School. In 1995, she had her first trip to Brussels as a co-pilot, and later in 2010 she helmed her first trip as a pilot to the Jordanian capital Amman, where the Former Prime Minister Tammam Salam was one of the passengers on this trip. She’s also the regional vice president of the International Federation of Airline Pilots’ Associations. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@melaniehoteit]

Such an inspirational woman! I am so proud of her. That‘s exactly the type of motivation girls and women need💪🏼

[@sebouhtorikian1735]

I lover her! Best captain ever ❤️

[@timothygeiger8271]

She is a beautiful woman too🔥🔥🔥😍😍😍

[@srivishwa9582]

Great Women Humanity... ❣👍🌟🌻😍

[@MrVoocGaming]

♥♥

[@charles-michelgongora9132]

Airways Aviation Academy - ESMA in Montpellier, France is one of the best flight schools in the world. We want to encourage women to become pilots. Would Rola accept to become the godmother of our next intake in September 2022 for which we will organize a scholarship for women?

[@seniorlocalguide]

I caught Rola in a lie... She said in Arabic that the MEA ad did not specify both males and female as she is claiming now... She said she applied not knowing that MEA was only looking for male pilots. I wish she would set the record straight.

[@timothygeiger8271]

I heard her say once how she learned how to fly. She was in college studying something entirely different. Her brother was there as well, on a whim they applied to learn how to fly & was accepted. She upgraded to captain fairly quickly, both her & her brother.

[@seniorlocalguide]

I admire Rola... but she is still a typical Lebanese... She hears something someone made up. She never vets it or fact checks it. And she ends up parroting it and looking bad. She mistakenly calls the 'comb' in a rooster's anatomy as cockpit. There is no such thing!... There is a cockpit (a pit for fighting cocks) but that's not what she is referring too.