By Nwafor Okafor
A young girl, Miracle Izuchukwu, from Agulu, the hometown of a former governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, has become the youngest female black pilot in the United States of America.
Recall that a former Minister of Information, and ex-Director General of NAFDAC, the late Prof Dora Akunyili, hailed from Agulu.
THE STORY OF THE YOUNGEST FEMALE PILOT
In recent times, Nigerians abroad have been making the country proud even though its dented image continues to rot in the western world. Virtually all fields have at least one Nigerian breaking record in the name of the country.
There’s one positive addition to the Nigerian image in US, meet Miracle Izuchukwu, a 25 year old pilot from Agulu, Anambra State who recently joined the elite group of 7% of females and 1% of black female Pilots in the world.
She makes history as youngest Black female pilot for commercial airlines in USA. It started with telling her parents that she wanted to be a pilot. At first, her parents didn’t support her dream. They didn’t see it as a possibility.
When interviewed she recalled the difficulties she encountered while pursuing her dreams. She noted that the environment didn’t encourage young girls to dream big.
“I grew up in a society that did not encourage young girls to dream big, career-wise. I remember watching lots of TED Talks to give myself more insights on possible careers that might interest me…to no avail,” said Miracle.
In 2019, she had an encounter with an Airline Pilot while working as a customer service rep. He opened her eyes to the possibility of becoming a Pilot. A few weeks later, she went on a discovery flight that sealed it for her.
“I came home that day, called my father, and told him I was considering becoming a Professional Pilot”. She further narrated her father’s remarks thus, “if I get on a plane and see a woman as the Pilot, I would get off the plane”. According to Miracle, words could not explain the pain and confusion she felt because she needed that validation from the father.
Even her mom too was totally against it; her mom is a nurse and wanted her to follow in her footsteps. Her mom felt that to survive in the United States, she needed to be a nurse to put food on the table.
But being a nurse was not her passion. She does not want to be limited to the four walls of the clinic, she wanted to explore her world so she followed her passion. Today, that passion has paid off.
Miracle’s success story indicates that our dreams are valid if only we are willing to roll up our sleeves, put in the work and follow our passion.
