Here is a writing tip: if you talk about a hypothetical person of undefined sex, choose "he" or "she" and stick with it. Some writing teachers say one should always use "she" to avoid sexism, but that is obviously not followed. As long as you do not actively reinforce stereotypes (i.e., you call all hypothetical flight attendants "she" and all hypothetical lawyers "he"), I think using "he" is fine.

But if you mix "he" or "she" up then you just raise questions in the reader's mind. Here the author has half "he's" and half "she's" which opens him (or her!) to bunch of accusations of sexism. Why was the newbie a "she"?