Every year, the University of North Dakota’s Women in Aviation Chapter commences, allowing members of the chapter to sell handmade candles to fundraise for the Women in Aviation Conference taking place this coming February. Women in Aviation is a group here on campus that consists of supporting females in aviation, inspiring other aviators, and providing a sense of camaraderie for everyone involved. This year, candles will be available for sale through November 17th, allowing time to purchase a candle in support of Women in Aviation. Each candle has an aviation-inspired name and makes for an exceptional gift for a stocking stuffer, or even to give to a friend as they complete their checkrides.  

Helena Lind, Secretary for UND’s Women in Aviation Chapter, explained a bit of the background of WAI’s annual candle sales. Lind explained that candle sales have existed for around 6 years, becoming an exceptional tradition for the universities chapter. Lind mentioned that one of her favorite parts of the tradition is the naming of the candles. Each candle, handcrafted with love, is named to tie the Christmas spirit to aviation terms. The candle scents consist of “Christmas Lights in Sight,” with a Fraser fir scent, “Jingle Bell Rock Your Wings,” with an apple and maple bourbon twist, “Inbound Via North Pole,” with a cinnamon chai scent, “Rocking Around Charlie Ramp,” with a coffee shop scent, “Deck the Hangars,” with a crème brulee scent, and finally, “Flying in a No Fly Wonderland,” with scents of lemon poundcake. Lind explained that these names are specifically picked to represent the joys of flying and to “showcase their dreams in the candles they sell.” Lind says her favorite scent is “Christmas Lights in Sight” because it captures the spirit of the holiday season, infused with hints of fresh evergreen. 

Lind says that the traditional supplier of candle wax has changed, with the new supplier offering a variety of high-quality scents for an exceptional product. Each candle is hand-crafted with 100% soy wax and one cup in size, each crafted with their own unique, comforting scents. These candles make for a wonderful gift not only for the aviation people in your life, but for Secret Santa gifts, stocking stuffers, or checkride completions.  

To order a candle in support of Women in Aviation, you can visit the Women in Aviation Instagram page, @undwai, and DM the page with your order. If you would rather email, you may do so by contacting [email protected]. All of the proceeds for the candle sales go directly to UND’s Chapter of Women in Aviation. Candles will be available for sale through November 17th.

Sadie Blace is a Dakota Student General Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].