Do You Really Know Who Amelia Earhart Is?
Many people know Amelia Earhart on a professional level—she was the first woman to fly solo over the Atlantic Ocean, she attended Purdue University, and she was the first woman to attempt a circumnavigation of the earth in an airplane—but not many people get to know who Amelia Earhart is on a personal level through her telegrams and personal letters. Amelia Earhart was an advocate for equal rights and is regarded as a major influence in feministic beliefs today, but none of this may have been possible without the help of Purdue.
Amelia Earhart was a very hard worker and dedicated to the task at hand. When she first arrived at Purdue she was given a set list of requirements that she had to complete while teaching at Purdue enabling her to continue to pursue her burning passion of aviation. One of these requirements stated Earhart
"Will spend not less than two weeks during each of the semesters of the academic year at the University, giving such addresses, conducting such classes, and holding such conference as will, in your and our estimation, serve to arouse among the problems on the new frontiers of life, and the relationship of these problems to the opportunities of youth."
(MSF 450 Box 1 Folder 3)
At that time Earhart was back and forth from Purdue and New York testing a new parachute. She was so dedicated to her dreams of flying and teaching that she was willing to fly back and forth from New York to Purdue on a regular basis to achieve her aspirations of changing the world through teaching and breaking records. Purdue was so grateful that Earhart was willing to help women at Purdue find success in life that they were willing to allow Earhart flexibility by giving her this generalized list of requirements.
Amelia Earhart was a very hard worker and dedicated to the task at hand. When she first arrived at Purdue she was given a set list of requirements that she had to complete while teaching at Purdue enabling her to continue to pursue her burning passion of aviation. One of these requirements stated Earhart
"Will spend not less than two weeks during each of the semesters of the academic year at the University, giving such addresses, conducting such classes, and holding such conference as will, in your and our estimation, serve to arouse among the problems on the new frontiers of life, and the relationship of these problems to the opportunities of youth."
(MSF 450 Box 1 Folder 3)
At that time Earhart was back and forth from Purdue and New York testing a new parachute. She was so dedicated to her dreams of flying and teaching that she was willing to fly back and forth from New York to Purdue on a regular basis to achieve her aspirations of changing the world through teaching and breaking records. Purdue was so grateful that Earhart was willing to help women at Purdue find success in life that they were willing to allow Earhart flexibility by giving her this generalized list of requirements.
Along with Earhart’s hard work and dedication was her attention to detail. In Amelia Earhart’s profession of aviation it was very necessary to pay close attention to detail considering the lack of technology in the nineteen thirties compared to today. Additionally, her attention to detail was shown in her telegrams. Amelia Earhart periodically sent telegrams to her husband George P. Putnam, and she would sign the bottom of the telegram with an italicized cursive font “A” (MSF 450 Box 1 Folder 1). However, in one particular telegram she did not like the manner in which she signed the telegram, so she erased it and rewrote the letter. This attention to detail carried over into her professional career as an aviatrix and teacher. If Earhart was not successful as an instructor at Purdue University, she would not have been granted the Lockheed Model 10 Electra that the Purdue Board of Directors gave to her enabling the first circumnavigation attempt via an airplane.
Finally, Amelia Earhart was very humble. Many of her adventures were either self-funded or partially funded by an organization she was associated with. Nevertheless, when Earhart decided that she wanted to continue to pursue her lifelong passion of aviation she had a dilemma: To complete her next world record-breaking feat, Earhart needed a new plane specially built for travelling around the globe. She knew that she needed the airplane to have “two motors, a maximum speed, at average altitudes in excess of 225 miles an hour” and the airplanes “cruising range exceeded 6000 miles”(MSF 450 Box 1 Folder 4). The problem was finding the funding for this plane, which had a final estimate of sixty-nine thousand dollars (MSF 450 Box 1 Folder 4).
Amelia Earhart’s journey to world prominence began on a very small scale and may have not been possible without the fortunate series of events she was granted. What got her to that point was her hard work and willingness to coalesce with Purdue University to inspire young college students to achieve their dreams. Her attention to small details, her humility, and her ability to dedicate all of her energy to a given task led Amelia Earhart to become the woman that everyone knows and aspires to be. However, to become revered like Amelia Earhart, you have to know her journey and what it takes to be successful.