Legacy of UND’s first woman aviator inspires new generations of pilots

Though Kay Lawrence, UND ’42, died in service to her country, her example lives on — and is helping more and more women pursue aviation careers

Editor’s note: At UND, the Kay Lawrence Women in Aviation Scholarship is given in honor of Kay Lawrence, the University’s first woman pilot and an aviator who gave her life for her country in World War II. Last week, UND Today told Lawrence’s story through her Grand Forks Central high school and UND college scrapbooks, which recently were sent (by the family of Kay’s best friend in high school and college) to Lawrence’s nephew, Mike Lawrence, in Grand Forks.

In Part 2 of this two-part feature, today’s story is a special Memorial Day item: a story featuring interviews with two winners of the Kay Lawrence scholarship and other female aviators, among them a UND graduate who’s now an Air Force captain and pilot of the F-22 Raptor, a supersonic stealth fighter.

UND Today thanks Patrick C. Miller, retired strategic communications editor for UND Today, for reporting and writing both stories.

* * * 

By Patrick C. Miller
Strategic communications editor, UND Today (ret.)

A year after graduating from the University of North Dakota in 1942 with an education degree, a pilot’s license and a job at Boeing Aircraft Co. in Seattle, 22-year-old Kathryn “Kay” Lawrence didn’t need to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).

But the desire to serve her country during World War II, the allure of flying and the opportunity to pilot the fastest, most advanced aircraft of the day led UND’s first woman pilot to volunteer to fly military aircraft in noncombat roles. In July 1943, she reported for WASP flight training at Avenger Airfield in Sweetwater, Texas.

Tragically, less than a month into the program, Kay’s life was cut short when the plane she was flying on a solo training mission crashed 15 miles from Avenger Field.

Mike Lawrence, 86, was 5 at the time and scarcely knew his Aunt Kay. However, he remembers the day the family received word of her death in Grand Forks, where Kay grew up and he still lives.

“Momma couldn’t stop crying,” he recalled.

In the photo nearby, which was taken by Patrick C. Miller for UND Today, Mike Lawrence  is shown with a photo of his aunt Kay, the WASP emblem and Kay’s pilot’s wings. 

Remember the WASPs

For decades after the war ended, the many contributions of the WASPs and the 38 women pilots from their ranks killed in training and operational accidents were largely forgotten.

It wasn’t until 1977 that President Jimmy Carter signed a bill passed by Congress recognizing the WASPs as military veterans. In 2006, the U.S. Air Force conducted a graveside ceremony in Memorial Park Cemetery memorializing Kay Lawrence with full military honors.

“The WASPs were some of the forgotten, unsung heroes who weren’t formally recognized,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Sawyer “Rizz” Murray, a 2018 UND aviation alum from Rosemount, Minn. “Now we’re finding out more about these women who — just like Kay — put everything on the line to go pursue their dreams, fly and defend their country.”

Today, Murray is living the life Kay Lawrence envisioned more than 80 years ago. She flies the F-22A Raptor for the Air Force as part of a fighter wing based at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia and for the Air Force’s F-22 demonstration team. The Air Force bills the Raptor as “the most dominant and advanced air superiority fighter in the world.”

“Women like Kay Lawrence, astronaut Sally Ride and the first female Thunderbird pilot — Nicole  ‘FiFi’ Malachowski — who paved the way as being one of the few so I could be one of the many is really a powerful thing,” Murray said. “It means that people like me are getting more opportunities to do what we love because people like Kay pursued what they wanted to do and what they loved.”

Flying to balance life

Morgan Schoenecker, a forensic nurse and private pilot in Anchorage, Alaska, is the granddaughter of Kay Lawrence’s best friend, Marcy Gilbertson-Schoenecker. Kay and Marcy graduated from Grand Forks Central High school together in 1938. Both enrolled at UND, and they also signed up for pilot training through a federal Civil Aeronautics Authority program — the only two women in a class of 40 at UND.

“Growing up, I always heard stories about Kay,” Morgan remembered. “She was almost like a sister to my grandma, more than a family friend. It felt like she was really family to my grandma.”

But their lives diverged when Marcy left UND after her sophomore year to marry George Schoenecker, a pitcher with the Grand Forks Chiefs baseball team. The couple followed George’s baseball career to Salina, Kan., where they started a family.

Kay went on to graduate from UND in 1942, earn her pilot’s license — the only woman to do so among 100 college students across North Dakota — and go to work for Boeing in Seattle. In the summer of 1943, she made the fateful decision to join the WASP program.

Morgan became better acquainted with Kay’s life story after her father gave her a scrapbook Kay had compiled at UND. It showed that Kay and Marcy were both involved in many of the same athletic, social and academic activities. (Two of Kay’s scrapbooks and other mementos were recently returned to her nephew, Mike Lawrence, by the Schoeneckers.)

Paging through Kay’s scrapbook, Morgan was struck by how many of Kay’s interests and activities mirrored her own — including a love of aviation.

“I had the feeling that if we had gone to school at UND at the same time, we would have been friends,” she related.

As a forensic nurse, Morgan often works cases involving domestic abuse, sexual assault and homicide. For her, flying isn’t only a hobby. It also provides balance to the daily stress of her job.

“My job is really emotionally challenging because I see a lot of sad things every day,” she said. “That’s part of why I love flying so much. If I’m just 500 feet above ground level, all the stress and anxiety and trauma related to my job melts away.

“Everything is put into perspective,” she added. “You feel like you’re above it all. You can see the beautiful mountains and the ocean. I find that flying is a really nice balance to the work that I do.”

Building a legacy through scholarship

Beth Bjerke, UND associate dean of aerospace, has worked to keep Kay’s example and legacy alive to inspire new generations of women in aviation. It seems to be working.

“Our women in aviation numbers are increasing exponentially,” Bjerke said. “For the longest time, it was below 10 percent. In the last few years, we’ve been welcoming incoming classes of more than 20 percent and close to 25 percent, which is outstanding to see after years of trying to move the needle.”

In tribute to Kay, the UND chapter of Women in Aviation each year raises funds for the Kay Lawrence Scholarship. The 2025 scholarship was awarded last month to Kanishka Keswani, a UND student pursuing her degree in commercial aviation.

“I’m really honored to get the Kay Lawrence Scholarship,” she said. “She was a brave person and an inspiration.”

Hailing from Bhopal, India, Keswani embodies the risk-taking attitude of Kay Lawrence, coming from halfway around the world to attend UND and pursue her goal of becoming an airline pilot.

“When I got to UND, it wasn’t too long before I made a lot of friends,” Keswani said. “It was a big culture shock for me at first, but all of my flight instructors and all of my professors were so supportive that I never felt out of place.

“When I started flying at UND, I just fell in love with it,” she continued. “The quality of the aviation program is amazing.”

A lasting inspiration

Angie Joven, currently a first officer in New York flying for Endeavor Air — a subsidiary of Delta Airlines — is a 2023 UND alum and two-time recipient of the Kay Lawrence Scholarship. She came to UND from Ewa Beach, Hawaii.

When Joven received the scholarship in 2021, she sent Mike Lawrence a card to let him know what the honor meant to her.

“Kay Lawrence is an inspiration of mine and reminds me to be bold,” she wrote. “Sometimes it can be overwhelming being the only girl in some of my classes. But I know that I am just as qualified as my male peers, and I am grateful to even have the opportunity to fly at the University of North Dakota.”

Today, Joven views the scholarship not only as a meaningful opportunity, but also credits it with helping her be successful academically.

“It encouraged me to keep going because there are challenges throughout flight training itself,” she explained. “It can be really hard to get out of the mindset of wanting to quit or give up. I truly appreciate the meaning of what the scholarship is about.”

The Kay Lawrence Scholarship is set up within the UND Alumni Association & Foundation, but it is primarily funded by the UND Chapter of Women in Aviation. Bjerke would like to see that change, however.

“Right now, it’s a pass-through scholarship, but it would be amazing to get it endowed so that it’s here forever in Kay’s memory,” she said.

Keswani plans to play a role in making this happen.

“Once I graduate from UND, I hope to stay actively involved with the UND Alumni Association and, one day, support this scholarship myself — even if it’s through small steps at first,” she said.

“It’s inspiring to be part of a community that’s so committed to encouraging the next generation of aviators,” she continued. “And I’m especially eager to remain connected with and contribute to UND’s Women in Aviation chapter in the years ahead.”

>> Did you miss it? Read the first story in UND Today’s two-part series.

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