Then and Now: Catching Up with Zonta Recipient Allison Rowe

Perhaps the most famous Zontian is legendary pilot Amelia Earhart. To honor Earhart’s contributions to the aerospace industry and to encourage women in STEM occupations (science, technology, engineering and math), Zonta International awards Amelia Earhart Fellowships. Since 1938, over one thousand women pursuing Ph.D./doctoral degrees in aerospace-related sciences or aerospace-related engineering around the globe have won more than $9.7 million (US).

In 2001, Zonta giving got a girl airborne – literally! Here’s the tale of her flight.

Peconic Bay Zonta was originally chartered under the name Zonta Club of Eastern Suffolk Area. That was in 1987, the year Allison Rowe was born.*

That earlier Zonta club supported the Dowling College Summer Aviation Scholarship Program for Young Women. At the time, Dowling’s School of Aviation maintained a fleet of aircraft, a virtual airport operations system, and flight simulators. The girls in the program, all graduating 8th graders who showed an aptitude for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), were selected by their schools for the week-long course.

Photo by Filippo Del Carlo

Allison attended the Dowling aviation program in the summer of 2001. After a week of intense studies, she and the other girls climbed into small prop planes at the Brookhaven Airport and flew to the Groton-New London Airport in Connecticut. Allison claimed the only twin-seater and doubled her flying time, taking the controls from the pilot both ways crossing Long Island Sound.

Fast forward to 2017. That’s when Allison tried her hand at flying a helicopter. "A lot harder than a plane because it’s so maneuverable, but also way more fun for the same reason," she said.

Allison lives in London, where she works as a designer. To watch her TEDx talk, "Being Rationally Irrational to Design the Future," click here.

*Full disclosure: Allison Rowe is the daughter of Mona Rowe, webmaster for Peconic Bay Zonta.