Louisa Choppy Patterson
Over The Top
Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand
"If you spend too much time looking back over things, you don't really get anywhere."
Career Roadmap
Louisa Choppy's work combines: Environment & Nature, Travel, and Accomplishing Goals
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
Her father and uncle were both involved in aviation so it was always around when she was growing up.
2.
At university, she majored in marine biology.
3.
One day, her uncle signed her up for flying lessons; she ended up dropping out of that major to focus on this new passion.
4.
When she was 10, her father was killed in an aircraft accident, so her mother was very anxious about Louisa's change in career path.
5.
She was an airline pilot for some time, but found it to be boring; said the best part was walking through the terminal in her uniform.
6.
Pivoted and went into flying helicopters instead; founded her own helicopter tourism company called Over the Top.
7.
She is the only female licensed helicopter pilot in New Zealand.
8.
Says her mother is now proud of her aviary career, and they believe that her father is acting as her guardian angel.
Defining Moments
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
There was a lot of controversy about being a woman in an agricultural pilot's role and people would say things, but I wouldn't ever listen to it, I wouldn't even hear it.