How I Developed Love for Aviation and My Journey So Far

One day in 2015 when I was in high school, my mother came back from work and unintentionally asked me “Why wouldn’t you become a pilot?” I laughed and said that I couldn’t deal with their math and physics because at that time I wasn’t really good in sciences.

In 2016, I dropped out of school because of my family's financial instability. It was in that year that my love for aviation started. I couldn’t stop thinking about the question my mother had asked me earlier. So I tried to find information about what it takes to become a pilot.

I discovered that the training costs were unbelievably high but nevertheless I kept trying to get enough information on other alternatives such as being an Aeronautical Engineer or an Aircraft Mechanic. As I went back to school in 2017, the love I had for aviation made me work as much as I could and set my goals higher each day.

In 2018, I got accepted in an Aviation college for an integrated ATPL course, but I couldn’t join because my family couldn’t afford it. During the same year, I was recognized by a company in Rwanda called Akagera Aviation. They offered me a helicopter ride and I spent a day with their Engineers and Pilots through “a day at Akagera Aviation campaign." That day, I learned more about aircraft and seeing how they actually operate with my own eyes, made me realize that there’s nothing else I could do that’s not related to aviation.

After graduating from high school in Rwanda, I got accepted in a French University to study “Sciences pour l’ingénieur mécanique” (Sciences for Mechanical Engineer) which is a stepping stone to my career in Aerospace Engineering.

After arriving in France and enrolling in my university studies, the aviation passion was still burning in me. I contacted aeroclubs in my city and they suggested I do the BIA which stands for Brevet d’Initiation Aéronautique (Aeronautical Initiation Certificate).

The BIA is mostly done by students between age 13 and 21, so I jumped at the opportunity. It was quite tough at the beginning and it was not easy to balance my university studies and the BIA program, but when you love something you have to fight for it.

Unfortunately, my BIA was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and due to my limited access to the course, I could not study online like the rest but that did not stop me from studying. Due to the spare time I have during this lockdown period I joined a couple of online (FAA) PPL ground school courses and I have completed one through April and looking forward to completing more. After my first University degree, I want to do my Masters in Aerospace Engineering and obtain a CPL by the time I graduate. I do not know how long it’ll take, but I won’t rest until it’s done.

My advice to young people like me who want to pursue a career in aviation is to never give up. Get enough information on what you want to do. If you meet financial problems it is okay. And don’t be afraid to look at the alternatives, seize every chance you get.