“My dad is an inspiration for my future career as a pilot. He is a pilot who loves his job and shared his passion for aviation with me while I was growing up. On my 13th birthday he surprised me by taking me up in a plane with him for the first time. I remember being nervous, but he explained everything to me and even let me fly. Once we got in the sky and I saw the views, I knew being a pilot was what I wanted to do. I am so grateful he helped me understand and see what that dream could be.

My whole family is very important to me. I am from Sergeant Bluff and live with my dad, mom, and two siblings. We are very close and they are always there for me. For that reason I knew I wanted to stay close by for college. Since there wasn’t an aviation option near us I was originally planning to go to community college to take some gen eds, but then I heard Morningside was starting the School of Aviation. I was excited that I could make my dream come true and still be near my family, and I liked the idea of being one of the first students in the program.

I visited Morningside and knew it would be a good fit for me. I have been here for about a month and everyone is so nice and I feel comfortable here. My classes have been great and I have loved getting to spend so much time in the flight simulators and learning from our instructor. I also got to be the first student to fly as part of the School of Aviation. I was nervous because there were a lot of people there to cheer me on and the media was there, but I was also excited because I knew my flight meant the first student to fly would be a woman. Once we got in the plane, the nerves went away. I knew what I was doing and it felt amazing to take off and get up in the air and finally do the thing I know I want to do.

I hope girls out there see me and know that they can be a pilot, too. I am looking forward to spending my career doing something I love, traveling the world, and hopefully one day being able to take my family on a big vacation together because of what I have accomplished.”

• Valerie Mejia, the first student to fly for the Morningside School of Aviation and an inspiration for women and girls everywhere