Shea Lisak

When Shea Lisak was in high school, she took a discovery flight on a whim and quickly fell in love with flying.

“I knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” Lisak says. “I started my flight training during my senior year of high school. I earned my private pilot license the day before I moved into my dorm at Arizona State University. There was no question in my mind that my major would be professional flight.”

Lisak completed all of the required certificates and licenses for her major early on as a student in The Polytechnic School, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU. Because she completed ASU’s flight certification requirements early, she also earned three flight instructor certificates.

She was hired as an aviation tutor the summer of 2024 and was subsequently promoted to lead aviation tutor that fall.

“In this role, I have been able to mentor and support other students in the aviation program, which has been rewarding for me,” Lisak says. “I have worked hard to improve the aviation tutoring service for both students and tutors. I want to see everyone succeed, so it is important to me that everyone has the tools they need to do so.” 

Lisak has been a teaching assistant for several aviation program courses, giving her an opportunity to give back to ASU and develop her skills as a flight instructor. Alongside her responsibilities at ASU, she is an active member of Civil Air Patrol, or CAP, a civilian volunteer program that is an auxiliary to the U.S. Air Force. She is also an active member of the Women in Aviation chapter on campus.

For Lisak, being a woman in aviation is significant because women represent only a small percentage of pilots. Historically, the commercial aviation industry excluded women from pilot roles.

“There are many phenomenal female pilots, and it is important for us to support each other and have a positive impact on the industry,” Lisak says. “One of my goals is to prove that women are just as capable as men at being pilots.”

After graduation, Lisak plans to work as a flight instructor to build more experience before launching her career with a major airline. She hopes to stay in the Phoenix area so she can continue to contribute to CAP and ASU.

“My long-term career aspiration is to become a wide-body captain at a major airline,” Lisak says. “If a supersonic passenger jet like the Concorde is brought back into commercial aviation in the future, I would love to be the pilot who flies it.”

Favorites

Hobby: Playing bass guitar
Band: Queen
Movie: The Empire Strikes Back
Game: Cats & Soup
Geeky possession: A giant LEGO model of the Concorde jet

Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ fall 2025 class.

Written by Erik Wirtanen