Jacksonville student featured in documentary that inspires young girls into aviation careers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Taylor Richardson, 16, has a mission in life.

"I want to definitely be an astronaut or do something in the aviation or astronomy field," Richardson said.

She also wants to be able to inspire other young girls with the message that "they can do it, too."

That's one of the reasons Richardson is being featured in a documentary "Fly Like a Girl" that premiers Tuesday at the Jacksonville Film Festival.

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The documentary explores young girls interested in aviation and current women in the field.

Action News Jax reported in 2017 when this Bolles student started a GoFundMe account, raising thousands of dollars so local girls in our area go see Hidden Figures,  a movie about the true story of African-American women who worked at NASA as engineers during the Apollo era.

The future astronaut even started a scholarship to send girls to space camp and she raised $50,000 dollars so girls could watch a Wrinkle in Time.

"When I  was little, I didn't have anyone to look up to or I didn't have anyone to see in a positive light. I  guess I wanted to raise money for African American girls to see themselves in movies that show them doing something," Richardson said.

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Richardson is hoping girls gain the confidence they need in aviation after hearing her story along with the many other influential women and young girls in film.

"I feel that it's a great film for girls to know that they cannot only be passengers but be the pilot to their aviation dreams and they (can) be in charge of their own destiny," Richardson said.

Fly like a Girl will premiere at the San Marco Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Cox Media Group