Roxanne Scott-Williams

Artist, Atheist, Brainstormer, Explorer, Foodie, Global soul, World traveler

Female Aviation Enthusiast. Born and raised in Durban South Africa by two highly driven entrepreneurs. Her philosophy in life is to be the best you can be, in all you endeavour, to do, as well as to dream big and let nothing stand in your way. Having always dreamt of being a pilot, she now finds herself a First Officer, on contract in West Africa, in male dominated industry on a male dominated continent. Being a "Girly Girl' in the aviation industry and being a "woman," flying a plane in Africa has brought a few interesting reactions including raised eyebrows, but her favourite is the look on the little girls faces when they see her in uniform. She hopes to inspire and uplift women wherever her job takes her and is currently studying French so that the message can be better communicated. At 23 she has a very interesting journey ahead - watch this space!

First and foremost, I am a passionate aviator. My job has allowed me the opportunity to work alongside such organisations as the United Nations World Food Program, the Red Cross and the French Military. Being a young female aviator in West Africa has allowed me to gather some fairly unique life experience and as a result, I have tried to help and make a difference in a few individual's lives. Being in Mali has brought with it an extraordinary opportunity - although not through formal routes yet - the possibly of helping people for the better. I have a particular interest and passion in the rights of women, children and animals. My job has allowed me some incredibly special moments. For example, I had landed in Niamey, Niger and needed to go to the Control Tower for some paperwork. While there, I met with a girls school career-day outing. Their teacher asked me to say a few words and after talking to them about being a woman and doing what I do, what it takes to get to where I am and how they could start in High School by working hard with Maths and Science, many of them came up with more questions and to thank me. It was the pivotal moment and will stick with me for the rest of my life, it confirmed my passion and the hope that I inspired them to strive for more. I am still learning about how to best serve my causes but have a few ideas so far... My interest in Philanthropy and the ability to make a difference has grown greatly since meeting Ashley Judd, getting to talk and spend time on our hiking trips, we spoke a lot about women's rights and about how she goes about helping. It inspired me to try and emulate her and do the same with my life - It amazes me how just getting out there and engaging with people can induce change. I'd like to learn more about that. For the animals, I, together with aunt Moyra Mulholland, a professional make up artist, am developing a range of skin care and make-up products that are Cruelty Free and contain no animal derived products. Combining this - with my passion for the environment and creating a future for our planet - our view is to make sure our products will be organic, sustainable and environmentally safe. I feel as if my journey is just beginning and I have a new set of goals that I want to achieve. I am extremely driven and cannot wait to see where this takes me.

One person can make a difference, you just have to start the right conversation.

Aviation

I have followed TED Talks for a few years, my main interest being in the science and physics fields, I have more recently found out about TEDWomen through Ashely Judd, and Moyra Mulholland who mentioned that I might like to join in as a spectator at the TEDWomen Conference in October. I have since discovered that the TED podcasts work a lot better than YouTube here in Mali with the slow internet connection, and have added them to my daily routine in preparation...

People don't know that I am good at drawing and painting. My favourite pass time is to draw things that I photograph in my usual daily life.