Hello all, my name is Jakiah Jackson and I am an aspiring pilot starting my aviation journey and working towards my dream. From a young age, I was always passionate about aviation but I didn’t envision myself being in the pilot seat because of the under representation in African-American Woman pilots. It is my plan to contribute to the representation of African-American Woman pilots and I would appreciate your love and support to make my dreams a reality.

A little information about me, I am an 18 year old student located in Dolton, IL. I am a loving older sister to two younger siblings. I love learning, listening to music, aviation, traveling, and making others laugh. My GPA, extracurriculars and leadership positions display my discipline and determination towards my ambitions. I currently maintain a strong weighted GPA of 4.3 (3.7 unweighted) while taking all honors and AP classes. I am a part of many sports and societies such as: National Honors Society, Spanish Honors Society, Thespian Society, Girls Varsity Basketball and Girls Varsity Golf. My efforts within my extracurriculars led me to multiple awards. I’ve obtained awards such as: Varsity Girls Basketball Captain, IESA All-Conference Player, Junior Class Officer, HighSight Scholar, Bedore Scholar (Chicago Summer Business Internship) and Honors with Distinction all four years.

I am committed to Western Michigan University with a major in Aviation Flight Science. As I began to take action in my aviation career, I realized that there are a lot of sacrifices needed to achieve my aspirations, the main sacrifice being money. Coming from a low-income household of five, the financial burden of flight training would tremendously affect my family. Western Michigan University’s flight program has an estimated cost of $84,000 for labs in addition to a direct cost of $33,000 per year for housing and tuition. My family is unable to pay these expenses out of pocket. Our financial situation has changed over these last couple of years. In 2022, my uncle was involved in a serious accident, resulting in him sustaining a Traumatic Brain Injury. My uncle currently lives with us with my mother as his primary caregiver, therefore she is unable to work. I plan to work when available to help offset cost but the estimated cost would remain an abundance.

Growing up as a young black girl who never believed she could become a professional pilot, I now feel confident as ever in my abilities to become an airline pilot. I have aspirations to work for a major airline after working for the regionals. In the future, I envision myself providing a more financially stable lifestyle for my family, representing African-American women in aviation, and mentoring young aviators. Becoming a part of the 1% of black women pilots is vastly important to me because representation is what allows others to believe in dreams that may seem unrealistic. Furthermore, I plan to create a nonprofit organization to expose underprivileged youth to aviation later in my career. This organization would include mentorship, opportunities, support, and resources for young aviators.

With the help and support from you all, I will put these funds towards my private pilot’s license along with needed flight labs to ensure I become a safe and successful professional pilot. I truly appreciate all of the love and support and anything you donate would contribute to the dreams of that little girl who didn’t believe her dreams were possible. Thank you!