Leona Serao is setting out to do what no Black woman has done. The 23-year-old commercial pilot intends to make history as the first Black woman to complete a solo flight around the world.
Only 11 solo global flights out of 142 have been completed by women, according to Earthrounders, none of which have been Black. Serao plans to embark on her journey this summer, where she will depart from New York and travel to 33 countries and four continents over the course of three months.
“The fact that I’m going to be the first one means I’m going to be able to inspire other Black and other African people who want to join the aviation field,” said Serao to Yahoo News.
The Root reports that the young pilot’s late father was a pilot. Seeing him work in aviation inspired her to pursue the same career path. Despite there not being a lot of women, let alone Black women, represented in the space, Serao hopes that her expedition will “pave the way for future generations, especially women and black women, to pursue their dreams without fear of failure and show them that anything is possible.”
“It is a challenge because it’s a male-dominated field, and women didn’t really get the opportunity to be pilots before,” she told Yahoo News. “We couldn’t even drive before [the 20th century]. And in the aviation industry, it stayed like that.”
Getting to where she is now, and where she ultimately wants to be, hasn’t been the easiest for Serao. The pilot, who was born in America and raised in the Democratic Republic of Congo, spent six intense months and more than $70,000 to pursue flight training. She’s more determined than ever, however, saying, “When you have a goal, you have to fight for it, no matter the situation.”
Leading up to Serao’s solo flight, supporters can give donations on her website, where they will help to cover costs of food, fuel, lodging and anything else associated with her flight.
Roshae Hemmings is an arts and culture magazine journalist from St. Louis, MO. A graduate from the Missouri School of Journalism, Roshae has bylines in the Columbia Missourian, Vox Magazine and 5280 Magazine discussing topics ranging from pop culture, social justice and eat and drink. She is a foodie at heart and enjoys eating food as much as learning about the story behind it. You can reach Roshae via email at [email protected].
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