Olga Custodio with her daughter, Marcia Custodio at
age four. T-38 Instructor Pilot at Undergraduate Pilot
Training, Laughlin AFB, Texas.
Puerto Rico,” Velez says. “Even
though this wasn’t necessarily a
traditional career for women, we
were trying to convey that it was
possible.” That interaction led
to landing Custodio numerous
stories and inadvertently forged a
friendship between the women.
“She never let her success
erase where she came from. That
was so important for her and for us
and that’s why her story was so
compelling,” Velez shares. “She is
a strong woman, but her heart is
amazing.”
That heart is behind her
Olga and T-38 on cross country flight.
volunteerism. “I’m a big advocate for STEM and
trying to let young girls know they’re smart and to feel
confident. Even if they don’t see role models like
themselves, it doesn’t mean they can’t accomplish
their goals,” Custodio adds. The accomplished Latina
serves on the Dee Howard Foundation’s board, and
the board, in turn, collaborates with Women in
Aviation. The foundation tells the history of aviation in
Official Military
headshot of USAF Captain
Olga Custodio.
Olga’s first Undergraduate
Pilot Training student at
graduation Laughlin AFB,
TX– 1982.
San Antonio and gets students in pre-kindergarten to
12th grade interested in STEM. “All of these firsts are
hugely impactful on the kids and she’s very good at
talking to them, telling her story and relating to them,”
says Wayne Fagan, the foundation’s chair and
co-founder.
As if her long list of accomplishments thus far
weren’t enough, Custodio has been recognized twice
by the Senate of Puerto Rico. In 2013, she was
Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT)
Graduation, 1981 – “The Right Stuff” - the
UPT Class Patch. (L-R) Ismael Nevarez,
Olga Nevarez (parents), Marcia Custodio
(daughter), Olga and Edwin Custodio
(spouse).
recognized as a “FIRST” at the Veteran Women
Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (VWISE)
conference in Chicago. Custodio serves on several
scholarship committees and is a mentor with the
Aviation Explorers organization in San Antonio and the
School of Aeronautics of the Inter American University
in Puerto Rico. She is vice president of the Hispanic
Association of Aviation and Aerospace Professionals,
a nonprofit she helped found in 2010. She volunteers
with organizations like Boy and Girl Scouts of
America. Custodio also owned and founded
Dragonfly Productions, LLC, where she produced
several personal documentaries for six years.
She served on the Advisory Board for the
Southwest Texas Junior College
Career Pilot Technical Program and
San Antonio Museum of Art Lila
Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund
Grant. She directs and founded the
Ballet Folklorico Boriken, a Puerto
Rican folk dance group in San
Antonio, where she resides. She is
an active member of the city’s
Puerto Rican Heritage Society
and has coordinated countless
community activities. Custodio even
plays the Cuatro, an acoustic
guitar-like instrument of Puerto
Rico, and plays with the Ecos de
Puerto Rico orchestra in San
Antonio. Custodio says she’s
blessed to continue serving her country through her
countless volunteer efforts. “To young Latinos and
Latinas trying to pursue their dreams, I’d say to be
proud of who they are and where they came from,
but also be proud of this country.”
LS
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22 www.latinastyle.com Vol. 24, No. 6, 2018
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