Air Force’s 1st female fighter pilot is a UT alum, and she’s this year’s commencement speaker
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The United States Air Force’s first female fighter pilot went to the University of Texas at Austin, where she graduated in 1990. Now, 34 years later, she’s been selected as the university’s keynote speaker for its 141st Spring Commencement.
Retired Maj. Gen. Jeannie M. Leavitt, an aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics alumna, grew up in St. Louis and came to UT because she wanted to study aerospace engineering, UT said in a release.
Leavitt dedicated 31 years of service to the Air Force, logging more than 3,000 hours of flight time, including 300 hours of combat flying in Iraq and Afghanistan. She went to pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio and was the top graduate of her class.
In 1998, Leavitt became the first female pilot to graduate from Weapons School, the Air Force equivalent of the Navy’s Top Gun, according to a release from UT.
UT’s release added Leavitt said that her own experience with loneliness in efforts to become a fighter pilot gives her empathy with this year’s graduates, who persisted through the loneliness of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am honored to join the class of 2024 for their commencement ceremony,” Leavitt said in the release. “These graduates showed incredible grit as they persevered through the pandemic. Rather than focus on how their lives were impacted by COVID, they focused on actions they could control and excelled in their endeavors at UT. With courage, compassion and commitment, the Longhorn class of 2024 will change the world.”
Leavitt also consulted with Marvel Studios during the filming of the 2019 movie “Captain Marvel,” working closely with actor Brie Larson so that it would give an authentic representation of a female fighter pilot, UT’s release noted.
Leavitt also received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2023 from the Texas Exes.
“Maj. Gen. Leavitt broke much more than the sound barrier when she first took to the skies as a fighter pilot. She set an example of great persistence in pursuing her dreams, resilience in the face of disappointment, and being prepared for unforeseen opportunities,” UT President Jay Hartzell said in the release. “In many ways she represents this year’s graduates, who entered UT physically detached from our campus at the start of the pandemic and adapted so they could succeed. I am incredibly proud that Maj. Gen. Leavitt blazed her remarkable trail as a Longhorn.”
The commencement ceremony will be held May 11 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and is expected to draw more than 50,000 attendees.
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