MOUNTAIN LIFER
words :: Allison Kennedy Davies
Mountain Life: Tell us how your aviation journey began.
As we pull up a seat in Hangar 12 at the Collingwood Airport, I can tell Annie Rusinowski has some great stories to share. Surrounded by her fiancé Marcus Vogel’s Big Blue Air helicopters and a sweet vintage Bronco, the only thing missing in the hangar is her Piper Cherokee 140 that’s getting an instrument upgrade for her commercial exam. After six years in the air, Annie has accumulated nearly 500 hours, an impressive roster of scholarships and awards, a long list of mentors and a growing list of mentees. Annie passes me a cold bubly and we dive into her story.
Annie Rusinowski: My family is of Polish descent and they immigrated to Canada two years before I was born. They really wanted us to have strong ties with our family in Poland so we traveled back as often as we could. By the time I was 14, I had travelled on dozens of airplanes and visited many different European countries. I just remember really enjoying airplanes and airports. When I was in high school, I had a friend going to Ryerson for Aerospace [Engineering]. I went to my guidance counselor and I was
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