From Personal Safety
to Personal Agency
A presentation outline by Capt. Robert Polakoski, founder of Project Preflight.
The cockpit gave me something I had never experienced: a sense of control over my own life.
Aviation didn’t simply teach me how to respond to danger. It taught me that I could develop the knowledge, judgment, and confidence to influence what happened to me. That is the foundation of personal agency.
For college women, the goal is not fear or responsibility for other people’s misconduct. It is to expand choices, strengthen judgment, communicate decisions, and act on their own behalf.
Personal Opening
I began flying when I was fifteen years old, and I earned my pilot’s license on my seventeenth birthday, the first day I was legally eligible.
There were many reasons I fell in love with flying, but one of them took me years to understand.
I grew up in a home where life could be unpredictable and chaotic. Both my parents struggled with alcohol, and I learned early that doing everything right didn’t necessarily mean things would turn out right.
But something remarkable happened when I climbed into that little airplane and closed the door. For the first time in my life, I felt incredibly safe.
It wasn’t because flying was without danger. It was because I had entered a world where the rules made sense. If I learned something, practiced it, and applied it correctly, I could see the results. I wasn’t at the mercy of somebody else’s mood. My success depended on what I learned and how I performed. For the first time, two plus two reliably equaled four.
And when I took off and climbed a few thousand feet above the ground, I experienced something else: freedom. There was a whole world out there beyond what I knew back on the ground. It was exhilarating.
But the most important thing flying gave me wasn’t the ability to escape. It was the realization that I could influence my own future. I could learn to recognize danger. I could prepare for it. I could make decisions. I could act. Over time, that became more than confidence. It evolved into a sense of personal agency.
I went on to spend thirty-two years flying for United Airlines, eventually becoming a Boeing 777 captain. And I’ve come to believe that some of the most important lessons I learned in aviation, which all began in that little Cessna, have applications far beyond the cockpit.
That’s why I created Project Preflight. I don’t believe young women should have to experience danger to develop confidence in their ability to respond to it. I believe we can teach many of those skills beforehand. And that’s what we’re going to explore together today.
From the Cockpit to Campus
Safety begins when the world becomes understandable
Aviation experience: At home, expectations could change without warning. In the airplane, the principles were consistent. Two plus two equaled four.
Application for college women: Understanding unsafe conditions and available responses reduces uncertainty.
I discovered something remarkable in that little airplane. The rules didn’t change depending on somebody’s mood. I could learn them, understand them, and use them to make decisions.
Recognizing danger is not the same as accepting it
Aviation experience: As a child, I recognized danger but had little ability to change my circumstances. Flying showed me that recognizing a problem could lead to corrective action.
Application for college women: Take observations seriously even when peers normalize troubling behavior, without treating every discomfort as danger.
One of the most important things I learned was that just because something happens all the time doesn’t mean it’s safe.
Authority does not replace judgment
Aviation experience: I saw adults with authority make unsafe decisions. Aviation taught me to question assumptions and speak up.
Application for college women: Practice respectful, assertive challenges to people with social or institutional authority.
In the cockpit, safety isn’t about who’s right. It’s about what’s right. Everyone has a responsibility to speak up when something doesn’t look right.
Preparation creates confidence before a crisis
Aviation experience: I began flying at fifteen and earned my license at seventeen. Each lesson brought greater independence.
Application for college women: Practice boundary-setting, contacting trusted people, supporting a friend, and leaving uncomfortable situations.
In aviation, we don’t wait for an emergency to decide what to do. We prepare beforehand, so when something unexpected happens, we already have options.
Personal agency grows from experience, not reassurance
Aviation experience: Confidence came from learning, practicing, making decisions, and seeing results.
Application for college women: Use small repeated choices, role-play, and practical exercises to experience agency.
Nobody gives you confidence. Mine developed one flight at a time. With every new skill I acquired, I expanded what I could do for myself.
The ultimate goal is freedom, not fear
Aviation experience: The cockpit door gave me safety; flying gave me freedom to choose my direction.
Application for college women: Safety education should expand independence, not restrict life or impose constant vigilance.
Flying didn’t make me afraid of the world. It gave me the confidence to explore it. That’s what I want Project Preflight to offer young women.
The Three Goals of Project Preflight
You have agency
After today, you have permission to always act in your own best interests. You don’t need to explain why to anyone.
You have a different mindset
The first time I sat alone in that little airplane, my mindset completely changed. It was up to me to make the right decisions. Today, you are in the cockpit of your life with the mindset that you are the ultimate manager of your own safety.
Mindful intention
In an airplane, your goal is to go somewhere. From now on, every day of your life moves forward safely with mindful attention to your life destination.
Aviation Principles, Student Exercises, Agency Developed
| Aviation principle | Student exercise | Agency developed |
|---|---|---|
| Situational awareness | Identify early warning signs in a social situation | Trusting observations |
| Expectation bias | Examine why someone might dismiss concerning behavior | Independent judgment |
| Threat levels | Evaluate how a situation is changing | Choosing a response |
| Crew Resource Management | Practice challenging someone else’s decision | Speaking up |
| Emergency preparation | Rehearse leaving, contacting support, or helping a friend | Confidence through practice |
| Debriefing | Discuss what worked and what could change | Learning without shame |
The Larger Message for Project Preflight
The connection between the speaker’s childhood and college women’s lives is not identical circumstances. It is the universal importance of agency when circumstances are uncertain or when someone else has power over you.
Core message: Safety creates the conditions for agency. Preparation develops the capacity to act. Agency expands the freedom to live.
“Empowerment changes how women think. Agency changes how women act.”
Agency does not mean controlling every outcome. Even well-prepared pilots encounter events beyond their control. Preparation expands options and helps people respond effectively. Women are never responsible for someone else’s abusive behavior.