The Sky’s the Limit

Ellie Manske’s Journey Through Challenge, Leadership, and Lift-Off

Editor’s Note: Ellie Manske is the winner of YVW’s Empowered Women Scholarship. The scholarship sought out a student who shines scholastically and who has character, leadership, and community spirit. Ellie was all of the above. She received a $1,000 scholarship to start her freshman year at University of North Dakota.

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” That quote from Henry Ford is something 17-year-old Ellie Manske says has kept her grounded when her jam-packed high school days seemed too much to handle.

“This resonated with me when I was overwhelmed with everything I was doing,” Ellie says. “Although I always enjoyed it, it was often difficult to maintain it all.”

If you look at the list of activities she tackled, you can see why. Ellie served on student council and the National Honor Society, was the senior class president, taught cello to middle schoolers, played with the Senior High Orchestra, was on the tennis and cross-country teams, volunteered for a handful of organizations throughout high school, and — up until 2022 — competed worldwide in Irish dance.

“My parents were very into Irish music. We went to the An Ri Ra festival in Butte. It’s a huge Irish music festival,” Ellie says. “They saw a group of Irish dancers and then enrolled me right after.”

Ellie was 5 or 6 years old when she started lessons. Over the years, she not only traveled the nation in pursuit of a spot on the podium, but in 2019, she qualified for the World Irish Dance Championships.

“It was a great experience,” she says, calling Irish dance a kind of escape for her.

Even with her travels, Ellie continued to say ‘yes’ to opportunity after opportunity. “I like being involved in my community and helping others,” she says of her high school years. Surprisingly, she found the time to roll up her sleeves and give her time to causes she cared about. She helped organize “Keep Senior Beautiful” to clean up the grounds of her high school. In addition to volunteering at St. John’s United Assisted Living, Art House Cinema and Pub, and the Billings Clinic, she was the first junior board member for Family Promise, a nonprofit in Billings whose mission is to end homelessness for families with children.

“I think it's just helped me have compassion for others. I think it has also brought me joy in life. It helps me to appreciate everything more,” Ellie says of her volunteer experiences.

In much of her volunteering, she has found a way to impact the lives of children. She volunteered at Camp Invention, helping kids build a love for STEM through hands-on, one-of-a-kind problem-solving skills. She volunteered to read to younger students at McKinley Elementary to spark a love of reading, and she shared her love of music with middle school students who wanted to learn how to play the cello.

She admits that there is something about touching the lives of young people that inspires and ignites a passion within her.

“I love working with younger kids. I like being an inspiration for others,” she says, “and they are so energetic and joyful to be around.”

On top of all of that, in late May of this year, she earned her private pilot’s license. It was a process that took a year but helped solidify her future in a big way.

“I decided to get my private pilot’s license so that I could figure out what it was all about before I committed to aviation as a path in college,” Ellie says. She learned early on that she was indeed interested.

“I just connected the dots. I love travel. I love flying. I went on an intro flight in one of these small planes, and I loved the experience,” she says. “That’s when I started the journey to get my private pilot’s license. I have been in love ever since.”

In the fall, she’ll venture off to the University of North Dakota, one of the largest accredited collegiate aviation schools. She plans to earn a degree in aeronautics with a major in commercial aviation. She already knows that, once she gets on campus, she’d love to join the Aerospace Advisory Council — a student council for students in aviation — as well as the university’s chapter of Women in Aviation. She knows women need more representation in this field.

“It’s growing, but especially with the commercial airlines, it’s a very low percentage of women. It’s roughly six percent,” she says. “I want to help with that representation.”

While she sees herself potentially as a commercial pilot, Ellie isn’t completely locked in when it comes to her precise career path. Right now, there’s far too much to experience before she makes up her mind.

“I definitely see myself becoming an instructor because I love teaching. So, once I get all my wings, I would like to teach. After that, I’m not really sure,” Ellie says, excited to experience all she can before she lands on an official career path.

“I am a first-generation pilot in my family, and although it is sometimes difficult to know what is in my future as a pilot, I am open to exploring every option available,” Ellie says. “There are so many roads I could take in aviation. I’m excited to see what the future holds.”