Sophie Mater cut her teeth on international travel. While her father, Dustin Mater, is Chickasaw, her mother, Titi, is from Indonesia, and they would often fly the 10,000 miles to visit family. The first time she went, she was a toddler; she grew up looking at the world from above the clouds, but always as a passenger. Now, however, she is taking the steps to move from the cabin of the plane to the cockpit.
Mater’s interest in aviation was first piqued through the Chickasaw Nation STEM Academy programs. When she was young, she participated in FemSTEM and the Chickasaw Nation Aviation and Space Academy (CNASA). FemSTEM is a summer day camp that is designed to introduce young girls to various STEM fields and encourage them to pursue careers in these disciplines. CNASA provides hands-on learning experiences to prepare the youth for careers in science, technology and aviation.
During both camps, Mater visited the Ada Regional Airport. On one of those occasions, she had the chance to fly in a Cessna and was even allowed in the cockpit. Though she had been on many jumbo jets, it was a very different experience. In all her flights, she had never felt the air currents that way, and she loved it.
In addition to aviation, the Chickasaw Nation STEM Academy also sparked an interest in robotics and coding. When she had a chance to start the aviation program through Ada City Schools in ninth grade, there was no doubt in her mind about participating. Though her initial interest was more focused on the engineering aspects of aviation, in her sophomore year Mater realized her true passion lay in flying — specifically the adrenaline rush of takeoff.
Now, Mater is a freshman at the University of Oklahoma (OU), studying aviation management while flying at a nearby school. In addition to the aviation curriculum, Mater has all the regular classes every college student must take, which makes the program very challenging.
“It is very fastpaced,” Mater said. “My first day in school I had nine homework assignments to finish.”
“Flying is only 1% of the process to becoming a pilot. Before you can even fly for the day, you have to present to your instructor that you understand everything you will be doing for that lesson, and you have to know all the safety protocols and regulations,” she said.
The faculty and staff are supportive of their students’ dreams and help them as much as they can. They offer tutoring three days a week, with flight instructors there to help with any assignment they might have for an aviation class.
The work is rewarding to Mater, though, especially when she can see her progress. When her instructors give her quizzes, she can see how far she has come and how much she has learned.
“It feels really good to know that I’ve gotten better,” Mater said.
While there are other women in the aviation program, Mater has not met any other First Americans. However, while that is lonely, it also fills her with resolve.
“It makes me feel a little bit alone, but I know that’s why it’s important for me to do this,” Mater said. “We need more Native Americans branched out in different types of industries, especially aviation.”
Even though Mater doesn’t have any Chickasaws or First Americans in her aviation classes, she has Chickasaw aviation heroes to look up to. Ever since she was young, Mater was inspired by trailblazing Chickasaw citizens Cmdr. John Herrington and Eula “Pearl” Carter Scott.
Herrington was the first enrolled citizen of a federally recognized First American tribe to fly in space, and Scott, at the age of 13, was the youngest pilot in the United States to have their first solo flight. While Mater has had the chance to meet Herrington a few times, she admits that she gets nervous talking to him. Scott passed before Mater was born, but she read her biography when she was 13 and has watched the film about her life, “Pearl,” countless times. She draws inspiration from their stories and hopes to be an inspiration to Chickasaw youth in the future.
“Sometimes it is hard because there are not as many Native Americans going into the aviation industry, but it is also rewarding because you are helping create a path for others,” Mater said. “I just need to forget how hard it is and focus on what I’m doing to help my people.”
Even though the freshman class at OU has 6,575 students, Mater has found a place where she feels she belongs. She appreciates the diversity and the chance to meet so many people from different backgrounds. She has also made many First American friends in the general student body at OU. She has joined the American Indian Student Association and met a lot of young Chickasaw women. She is grateful for those experiences.
“It’s really cool to be able to go into your own community and meet everybody there and be able to make connections that will last a long time,” Mater said.
Mater is already thinking about pursuing a graduate degree in aerospace engineering. Her ultimate aviation goal, for now at least, is to become an international airlines commercial pilot, but she has not ruled out the possibility of following in Herrington’s footsteps and becoming an astronaut. This is one of the reasons she is considering graduate studies in aerospace engineering.
“I would also like to become an astronaut, and it would help with that, like learning the basics of working on a satellite,” Mater said.
For Mater, it is important to set goals and follow through with them. While it is normal for some people to change their goals and dreams over time, this is not so for Mater. Aviation has been a large part of her life since she was a child, flying back and forth to Indonesia.
“It’s a goal I set for myself, and it is really important to me because when I accomplish this it’s going to show how far I have come,” she said.