Flight Attendant Lindsi Evans and First Officer Erica Swenson first met in 2016 when they both joined the same cheer team, the Cheer Athletics Sabres. After a successful season of cheerleading, the girls remained close friends but went on to pursue their respective careers. Fast forward six years later, and they’ve found themselves both working for Envoy!
In honor of BFF Day, Lindsi and Erica have agreed to share the story of their friendship.
When cheer is life
As a dedicated cheerleader from age 11, Lindsi opted to join the best team cheer team she could find which happened to be a five-hour drive from her hometown. Due to the lengthy drive and frequent practice schedule, Erica offered for Lindsi to stay with her. Thus, a beautiful friendship was born.
“Erica and her parents opened their home up to me many times over the year we cheered together, especially during our busy competition season,” shared Lindsi. “Our entire team was a family, but Erica is someone I knew I could always count on.”
From the mat to the sky
Becoming a pilot was something ingrained in Erica from an early age as aviation is something that has run in her family. Both her grandfather and dad are pilots, and her mom is a flight attendant for American.
It was during the cheer season that Erica took her first solo flight, and she went on to earn her private pilot’s license by the end of that year.
“Both milestones I remember sharing with my whole team and they were huge supporters of my future career,” Erica said. “The lessons I learned in cheerleading directly correlated to my flying. When something goes wrong in a routine or the music stops playing, the routine isn’t over — you keep going.”
After graduating high school, Erica continued flight training as an Envoy Cadet at LeTourneau University. She found herself missing competing, so she quickly joined the flight team at LETU.
She eventually became the captain her senior year and competed in the Women’s Air Race Classic as the team pilot.
Eagle pride
In 2021, Erica started training at Envoy as a pilot. When Lindsi noticed Envoy was hiring Flight Attendants, she jumped at the chance to apply and leaned on Erica for mat talk and interview prep. Mat talk is a term used in cheerleading to reference hyping up and encouraging teammates.
“We talked almost daily as Lindsi worked through the application and interview process,” said Erica. “Once the job offer was made, we were both so excited to get to work together. We are so thankful that Envoy has brought us close again!”
Thank you to both First Officer Erica Swenson and Flight Attendant Lindsi Evans for sharing your story!