Where Are They Now? Felecia Crouch

When Felecia Swindle Crouch was a child, her parents separated and her mother moved to North Dakota. “Between five and 10 years old, I traveled on an airplane between my parents quite often,” she said. “The flight attendants were some of the nicest people and I enjoyed it. I loved flying.”

That early experience with flying set the course for Crouch’s career as a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines. “I started in 2004, and here I am in my 18th year and still loving my job,” she said.

Crouch graduated from Dublin High School in 1996, and started working at Dairy Queen and the Dublin sale barn to put herself through college. She took classes at Ranger for a couple of years, then transferred to Tarleton to study accounting.

While at Tarleton, she took on another job at Old Doc’s Soda Shop, where she met her nowhusband Kent Crouch.

By the time she reached her senior year at Tarleton, Crouch was starting to doubt whether she actually wanted to go into accounting. One day, one of her friends mentioned at Southwest Airlines was hiring flight attendants. “I had told her it was a dream of mine, and I was highly interested,” she said.

So Crouch applied, and went through an extensive interview process. “In 2004 I was hired at Southwest Airlines contingent on passing the month-long training course,” she said. “The course was seven days a week, 12 hours a day.”

Crouch learned first aid, what to do in case of various medical emergencies, and the proper procedures for other incidents that can occur in-flight. “Flight attendants are there primarily for everyone’s safety,” she said. “Although people think we’re there to serve them beverages and food, that’s just a bonus. We want to keep people comfortable but our job requirement is safety, first.”

Once she passed the test, Crouch began working flights, and hasn’t stopped since. In an average week, Crouch works three days and is off four. “A threeday work trip for me consists of waking up at 1 am in Dublin, Texas, and heading to Dallas Love Field at 2:30,” she said. “I check in and start my day between 5 and 6 am, and that day will consist of two to three legs — and on a perfect scenario of a trip I will end up in San Diego, California.”

She’ll walk around for a bit in San Diego and then go to bed early for another day of flying the next day, which might end up in Boston or another northern city. Then, on the third day, she’ll work a series of flights that land her back in Texas.

Southwest covers around 150 cities from Canada to the Caribbean and around the US. “We have quite a bit of flexibility as far as who we work with and where we go,” she said. “I can pick and choose my flights and I prefer to try and fly with my best friends.”

She loves to get out and explore the places she lands in. “Most trips offer enough time to get out and explore and see the city, and I enjoy trying anything craft, whether it be mom and pops foods or just a small craft beer place or local ice cream,” she said. “Everybody is doing their own things now so I really enjoy getting to do all of that as well and support the local industry wherever I’m at.”

Working in the airline industry during the pandemic has been chaotic for Crouch, although things are starting to look more normal. “There were times in 2020 when I was on an airplane that holds 175 people and I might only have four passengers,” she said. “Whether it was an hour flight or a fivehour flight, we still had to carry our passengers and take them where they were going.”

Crouch appreciates that her job allows her the flexibility to spend time at home and with her family in Dublin. “I am very thankful that I have the pleasure of going to do what I love to do, and then I get to come home and be in the country and be a country girl,” she said. “We have cattle and land. I get the best of both worlds.”

She and her husband helped raise one son, Kade (her husband’s son from a previous marriage), who is now 23 and a senior at Texas A&M. “We’re kind of empty nesters at this point,” she said. “Life changes when you don’t have children at home.”

These days she spends her free time taking care of the dogs and cattle, reading, and traveling with her husband. “Anywhere I’ve been that my husband hasn’t traveled to I’m always wanting to take him back, or we go to someplace new,” she said. “We enjoy hiking destinations, the beach, and having good food and drinks with our family and friends. And we are in search of the greatest steak this side of heaven.”

Throughout her life, Crouch has found inspiration in her faith. “I just want to be the best Christian — and the best person — that I can be, each and every day,” she said.

Crouch’s advice to future Dublin graduates is to know that they can make their dreams and goals happen with hard work. “Do what makes you happy,” she said. “And whatever you’re doing, whether it’s work or fun or play, just do your best and be sure that you’re proud of what you’re doing.”

Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@dublincitizen. com.