Originally from Pennsylvania, Janice Welsh and her husband have been living happily in La Porte County for most of their adult lives, where they raised their two children and now have the pleasure of being a part of their grandchildren's lives.
After they moved to La Porte County, Welsh quickly became involved in flying. Since 1997, Welsh has been a Certified Flight Instructor in La Porte County along with her husband. Welsh first worked as a CFI in Valparaiso, before moving on to teach in La Porte along with her husband. Currently, she does not work for a specific school or airport. Instead, she offers her serves as a CFI in a freelance position.
"It's difficult to pinpoint what the best part of my job is. I love flying. There's something about flying that keeps you young. However, I love the education part of my job as well. It's great when a student gets a concept, get's that 'a-ha' moment, and being a part of that is wonderful," Welsh said when talking about her job.
When she's not teaching students how to fly, Welsh is busy volunteering her time with many different organizations. For the past twenty-four years, Welsh has been a part of The Ninety-Nines, Inc., which is a non-profit organization that helps promote aviation for women. The organization also does a lot of aerospace educations, and Welsh's involvement with The Ninety-Nines, Inc. is how she became a CFI.
"It's really important that women interested in flying have a place like this to get information from," Welsh said. "Women are still very much a minority in the aviation field, and it doesn't have to be like that. It's great to be able to be a part of this and to let interested women know that it is possible for them to reach their dreams."
More recently, Welsh has become involved with the Civil Air Patrol where she gets to use her flight skills. Most recently, one of the most interesting things Welsh got to take part in with the Civil Air Patrol was an orientation flight with the cadets, where the cadets get to take over flying responsibilities once the plane is up in the air. Another interesting aspect of Welsh's time with the Civil Air Patrol is their involvements with Search and Rescue efforts.
"Any time a plane goes down and can't be found, we are called in to fly over the area and see if we can locate it," Welsh said. "It's extremely rewarding to be a part of something that can help so many people."
In what remains of her free time, Welsh like to garden, hunt with her husband, ride her Shadow Spirit 7 motorcycle, and spend as much time as she can with her two children and three grandchildren.
"I like to keep myself busy, especially now that my children are grown, with families of their own," Welsh said. "I do all of these things because they keep me young. I don't ever want to retire from life."