The 3% Club: Aviation Needs Mechanics but Women Are Leaving with Veronica Leacock Borchardt
Inside the mechanic shortage—and why the women who break in don’t stay
AVIATE with Shaesta · Shaesta Waiz, Michael Wildes
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Show Notes
When Veronica Leacock moved from Panama to the U.S., she wasn’t just changing countries. She was rebuilding her entire career—new language, new system, and a licensing process that nearly shut her out. She went hangar to hangar asking for a chance, trained without pay, and kept pushing until an FAA office in Oregon agreed to review her case and sign her paperwork.
In this conversation, Shaesta and Veronica walk through the real path: becoming a mechanic young, having a baby during training, immigrating, studying alone at night, and grinding through the FAA written, oral, and practical exams. Veronica shares what it feels like to fail a portion of the test, come back, and finish anyway—because quitting wasn’t an option.
They also get blunt about the culture in maintenance: the “sink or swim” mindset, the double standard women face in leadership, and why recruiting women is easier than keeping them. Veronica explains how small signals (like not even having women’s uniforms) send a bigger message: “this wasn’t built for you.”
The episode closes with her leadership “identity shift”—moving from proving herself to leading with purpose, integrity, and care for people. Her goal is simple: build others so well that they feel like they can achieve anything when they’re next to her.
CHAPTERS
(00:00) From proving to purpose
(01:41) Meet Veronica + the shortage
(04:37) Panama: first spark in a hangar
(10:09) U.S. reset: language + studying
(16:44) Oregon board signs her 8610s
(20:03) A&P O&P: fail, retest, win
(24:39) What mechanics really do
(29:25) AI, drones, predictive maintenance
(40:43) Fixing “sink or swim” culture
(55:40) Leading with values and care
SPONSOR
Atlantic Aviation | atlanticaviation.com
WORK WITH SHAESTA
For bookings and inquiries, visit: https://shaestawaiz.com/book
MORE ABOUT VERONICA LEACOCK BORCHARDT
LinkedIn: Veronica Leacock Borchardt
MORE ABOUT SHAESTA WAIZ
Website: shaestawaiz.com
Instagram: @shaesta.waiz
LinkedIn: Shaesta Waiz
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@aviateplatform
TikTok: @shaestawaiz
Threads: @shaesta.waiz
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