Barrington Irving, a 23-year old senior majoring in
aerospace at Florida Memorial University, will trade
his cap and gown for a brown flight suit, climb into
a single-engine plane he calls "Inspiration," and
embark on a round the world flight that will make
him the first person of African descent and the
youngest person ever to fly solo around the globe.
This will take place this Spring. Born in Kingston, Jamaica
and raised in inner-city Miami, Barrington hopes his
5-week historic flight will inspire other young people to
resist the negative influences of the streets and work toward
their dreams. As a teenager, Barrington and his friends shared
a sense of hopelessness about their futures, as there was little
incentive or opportunity for minority youth in the inner city to
pursue professional careers. He earned good grades in high
school but saw a football scholarship as his only route to college.
Then one afternoon, working in his parents' Christian bookstore,
Barrington began talking with a customer, a Jamaican airline pilot,
Captain Gary Robinson, who invited him to the airport the next
day to see the cockpit of the Boeing 777 jet he flew for United
Airlines. That day changed the young man’s life forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment