As I begin taking classes toward my MBA this fall, I have many thoughts circling my mind. While I love everything and anything finance and economics related, it has never been my passion to work a traditional 9-5 job every day for the rest of my life. I’ve always been someone who believes in higher education and the opportunities for growth and career advancement continuing education provides. I have always thought about the future and have always lived by the motto, "Do what makes you happy" and flying airplanes makes me happy. I remember people asking me the famous question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and me not being able to confidently answer the question, but now my answer is very clear - I want to be an airline pilot. Even though I knew early on in my undergrad I would begin working towards my dream career of being an airline pilot, I did not let that interfere with my studies because I believe any education can provide a high ROI. I graduated high school with a 4.1 GPA and received a scholarship to attend a local community college for two years for free. After graduating with a 4.0 GPA and my associate degree in business management, I transferred to the University of Missouri- St. Louis to continue my education and receive my bachelor’s degree. In December 2024, after years of hard work and dedication, I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in finance with a minor in economics and a 3.86 GPA. Throughout my studies, I knew I had to work hard and persevere to get to my goal and the completion of my bachelor’s gets me one step closer in my journey to becoming an airline pilot. I knew I had an interest in aviation, but this interest remained in the back of my head until late last year. At the beginning of this year, I began doing extensive research on the requirements needed to become an airline pilot and began looking for flight schools in my area. I found and visited a local flight school about 20 minutes from my house that I absolutely love and the only thing stopping me from beginning the training is the cost. Last year in June, I took my discovery flight, and I have been obsessed ever since. I bought the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge as well as the Airplane Flying Handbook and I have been reading a little bit every night just to familiarize myself with the basics. I have already obtained my First Class medical certificate and have passed the written portion of the Private Pilot Exam with 90%. Being a woman especially an African American woman entering the field of aviation is something that won't be easy, but I’m confident in my abilities to reach my goal. I want to be the pilot who inspires other young girls to get into aviation and show them that anything is possible. If I was selected to receive this scholarship, it would go towards the cost of training towards my PPL at my local flight school, Piston Aviation in St. Louis Missouri. After progressing through the program, I hope to be hired by the school as a CFI and work towards building up my 1,500 hours of flying time. I feel like I've been too comfortable with myself, and I know it's not ok to stay comfortable.

As I begin my last semester at the University of Missouri- St. Louis, I have many thoughts circling my mind. While I love everything and anything finance and economics related, it has never been my passion to work a traditional 9-5 job in a cubical. I have always thought about the future and have always lived by the motto, "Do what makes you happy" and flying airplanes makes me happy. I remember people asking me the famous question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and me not being able to confidently answer the question, but now my answer is very clear - I want to be a commercial pilot for United Airlines. I knew I had an interest in aviation, but this interest has remained in the back of my head until this year. Early this year, I began doing extensive research on the requirements needed to become a commercial pilot and began looking at flight schools in my area. Being in the location that I'm in, there aren't many options when it comes to flight training programs, so I decided to expand my search outside of my home state. On June 19th, I took my discovery flight, and I have been obsessed ever since. I bought the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge as well as the Airplane Flying Handbook and I have been reading a little bit every night just to familiarize myself with the basics. I have already passed my First Class medical certificate as well. The last week of June, my family and I visited Phoenix, Arizona and I made it a mission to visit United Aviate Academy located in Goodyear, Arizona. United Aviate Academy is my dream school, and after my visit to the campus, I'm certain that that is the school I will be attending despite the school being very selective with its applicants. I'm confident I have the necessary requirements to be selected to the program, and I will be applying as soon as the applications open. Being a woman especially an African American woman entering the field of aviation is something that won't be easy, which is why I chose a flight training program that has intentions of including people of color and an airline that has a mission of hiring a more diverse pool of pilots. I want to be the pilot who inspires other young girls to get into aviation and show them that anything is possible. If I was selected to receive this scholarship, it would go towards the cost of training at United Aviate Academy. After progressing through the program, I hope to be hired by the Academy as a CFI and work towards building up my 1,500 hours of flying time. I feel like I've been too comfortable with myself and I know it's not ok to stay comfortable. It's time for me to step out of my comfort zone and do what I've been wanting to do- pursue my dream of being a commercial airline pilot.

As I begin my last semester at the University of Missouri- St. Louis, I have many thoughts circling my mind. While I love everything and anything finance and economics related, it has never been my passion to work a traditional 9-5 job in a cubical. I have always thought about the future and have always lived by the motto, "Do what makes you happy" and flying airplanes makes me happy. I remember people asking me the famous question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and me not being able to confidently answer the question, but now my answer is very clear - I want to be a commercial pilot for United Airlines. I knew I had an interest in aviation, but this interest has remained in the back of my head until this year. Early this year, I began doing extensive research on the requirements needed to become a commercial pilot and began looking at flight schools in my area. Being in the location that I'm in, there aren't many options when it comes to flight training programs, so I decided to expand my search outside of my home state. On June 19th, I took my discovery flight, and I have been obsessed ever since. I bought the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge as well as the Airplane Flying Handbook and I have been reading a little bit every night just to familiarize myself with the basics. I have already passed my First Class medical certificate as well. The last week of June, my family and I visited Phoenix, Arizona and I made it a mission to visit United Aviate Academy located in Goodyear, Arizona. United Aviate Academy is my dream school, and after my visit to the campus, I'm certain that that is the school I will be attending despite the school being very selective with its applicants. I'm confident I have the necessary requirements to be selected to the program, and I will be applying as soon as the applications open. Being a woman especially an African American woman entering the field of aviation is something that won't be easy, which is why I chose a flight training program that has intentions of including people of color and an airline that has a mission of hiring a more diverse pool of pilots. I want to be the pilot who inspires other young girls to get into aviation and show them that anything is possible. If I was selected to receive this scholarship, it would go towards the cost of training at United Aviate Academy. After progressing through the program, I hope to be hired by the Academy as a CFI and work towards building up my 1,500 hours of flying time. I feel like I've been too comfortable with myself and I know it's not ok to stay comfortable. It's time for me to step out of my comfort zone and do what I've been wanting to do- pursue my dream of being a commercial airline pilot.