Ep. 334 Fueling Latino Dreams in Aerospace with Claudia Zapata-Cardone
Ready 4 Pushback
Nik Fialka
5.0 • 797 Ratings
🗓️ 26 March 2026
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode, Nik sits down with Claudia Zapata Cardone, President of Latino Professionals in Aerospace (LPA), to unpack how a small community has grown into a major force—now hosting large expos in Orlando and changing the game for Latinos in aerospace. Claudia highlights LPA's mission to open aviation doors for Latinos through community, connection, and opportunity.
She also shares how LPA has awarded more than $630,000 in scholarships, supporting everything from private pilot training to ATP certification and advanced aerospace degrees. Claudia opens up about her own journey as well, including earning a leadership scholarship to Harvard in her 50s, and explains why she believes it's never too late to bet on yourself.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, pilot. Welcome to Ready for Pushback. I'm Nick Fialca. It's a great day and I've got a good friend back with me, |
| 0:08.8 | the president of the Latino professionals in aerospace, Ms. Claudia Zapata Cardone, and we talk all |
| 0:17.1 | things Latino pilots and Latino professionals. If you know somebody who is interested in that world, |
| 0:24.4 | then you need to get them involved in listening to this show. |
| 0:28.2 | Pro tip, we're also talking about scholarships. |
| 0:31.1 | So give that a listen to. |
| 0:33.2 | Everybody loves scholarships. |
| 0:34.5 | Everybody likes finding a way to get some free money to buy some more gas to get in the aircraft. |
| 0:39.4 | So that's it, all right? |
| 0:40.7 | Sit back. |
| 0:41.7 | Relax. |
| 0:42.6 | Let's get ready for pushback. |
| 0:45.1 | It all started as a spark. |
| 0:48.7 | Maybe it was the sound of jets racing across the sky. |
| 0:53.0 | Or the feeling of your heart racing as you watch Crop Duster flying low and slow. |
| 0:59.0 | Even then, you knew you were meant to fly. |
| 1:03.0 | For pilots, it's more than just a job. It's a calling. |
| 1:07.0 | The early mornings, the long hours, the relentless training, you didn't do it for the money. |
| 1:13.6 | You did it for that moment. That moment when the wheels lift off and the earth falls away beneath you. |
| 1:19.6 | But flying is just the beginning. The journey to your dream job takes more than just skill in the sky. |
| 1:25.6 | It takes strategy on the ground and a lifetime |
| 1:28.9 | of learning. Most pilots don't understand what career opportunities are available in the world of aviation. |
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