Stay Current PSA Newsroom

January 9, 2023

The Faces of PSA Featuring Aysha Osten

“The Faces of PSA” latest featured team member is Aysha Osten!

PSA’s Internal Communications Specialist, Maggie Short, had a chance to interview Aysha regarding her volunteer efforts and the communities that honored her for them.

Read more about Aysha’s story below:

Name: Aysha Osten

Title: Flight Attendant and Recruiting Ambassador

How long have you worked for PSA? 4.5 years

How long have you been in the airline industry? Where did you work before PSA? This is my first job in the aviation industry. I grew up around the industry. My dad worked for McDonnell Douglas and then Boeing for more than 19 years. Before PSA, I was a stay-at-home mom for 10 years for my two boys (now ages 12 and 15).

What brought you to PSA? I have always enjoyed traveling and interacting with people. As soon as I realized PSA had a base here in Dayton, I thought I would give it a try. I fell in love with it and knew it was meant to be. I am so glad that I took that chance and went to the open house that day.

Give us a brief overview of what you do: A Flight Attendant’s top priority is to ensure everyone is safe. We are there in case of an emergency with the aircraft or with a passenger. We are there to help make the passengers feel calm, safe and comfortable on their flight.

What is one of the biggest challenges of your job? The biggest challenge is being away from my family. It was a big adjustment for me to be gone and miss special events. Being a Flight Attendant allows me to make up for it by taking my family on fun trips and even day trips.

Where’s your favorite place you have traveled? My husband and I traveled to Australia and New Zealand last year for 15 days. It was somewhere I always wanted to go. It was a once-in-a-lifetime vacation that we will never forget.

You were honored as one of the 100 Daytonians of the Week and honored by the city of Beavercreek. What were the honors for and what do they mean to you? I was so humbled that I was chosen as one of the 100 Daytonians of the week for the Dayton Daily News. We had many people in Dayton step up to help the victims of the tornados and the shooting that happened in the Oregon District. Beavercreek Mayor Bob Stone presented me with a certificate from the Auditor of State of Ohio Keith Faber in recognition and appreciation for creating the Beavercreek Tornado Network group and for my involvement to help the community. I really think it was the community that came together in this time of need. I created a communication tool for the community. We have continued to show our support and that we care.

Why did you feel compelled to help with the relief efforts in Beavercreek? It started when I was diagnosed with Stage III colorectal cancer in February of this year. I was recovering from the first of two major surgeries when the tornados hit on Memorial Day. (There were a total of 15 tornados that hit our area that night, including several E-4s). One of them hit my mom’s house in the neighborhood that I grew up in. I felt useless since I couldn’t help physically. I wasn’t able to drive and I couldn’t lift anything over five pounds so I thought I would start a Facebook group to enable people to communicate with others. It was a great way to find out what neighbors needed, direct volunteers where to help and locate items that people found throughout the destruction. It grew fast and now has over 6,500 members. I worked with the city to get help with what the community needed. I have been very involved ever since, including with events like Fill the Bus (a collection of back-to-school supplies), an upcoming Thanksgiving meal event and adopting families for Christmas. I also helped create a group called HEART (Helping Everyone Affected Recover From Trauma) to assist with the need of long-term recovery for mental and physical stress for those affected by the tornado. All this volunteering actually helped me during my own recovery as well.

What do you love about working for PSA? PSA scheduling has great flexibility and allows me to make it work around the other things in life that I love to do.

Would you recommend PSA and why? Yes. I think it’s a rewarding job. I love the life-long friendships I have made. Everyone makes you feel like family. It is fun having friends that live all over the world and you get to see them at work. I have also joined the recruiting team as an ambassador so I can share my passion for the job.

Tell us one thing about your role most people don’t know: There are many roles to a Flight

Attendant. My mom traveled a lot for her career and she always thought flight attendants were glorified waitresses and had no idea the intensive training that we get. We need to be a firefighter, nurse, referee, safety inspector and travel consultant. We need to know the plane inside and out so we can get you off the aircraft quickly in case of an emergency and then I can serve drinks while you are relaxing.

What has been the most rewarding part of your job? As a flight attendant, I love to see that we are part of someone’s journey. They might be going on vacation, traveling to see family or a longtime friend. What is so rewarding is that we are making that happen. As a recruiting ambassador, I love to see the excitement in their eyes. We might be making their dream happen and this is the first step in the process.

Tell us something few people know about you: My dad was in the military and I lived in Frankfurt, Germany for five years. Also, when I was in high school, we had a foreign exchange student from Berlin, Germany live with us for a year.