Shaesta Waiz came to the United States as a toddler with her parents and five sisters in 1987 as a refugee. Born in Afghanistan, the young girl believed her life would follow a similar path as her mother’s—marriage at a young age and raising children. But a flight in a commercial airliner when she was a teenager changed her mind: “I got off that airplane and told my aunt, ‘I want to learn how to be a pilot.’” From that dream to today, Waiz’s plans have soared. She became the first in her family to earn a college degree and is the first civilian female pilot from Afghanistan.
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