Kimberly Anyadike
1994)
Kimberly is a force to be reckoned with. Kimberly Anyadike is known as the first African American teen to fly across the United States. She flew from Compton, California to Newport News, Virginia in 2009. The plane used was a Cessna C-172.
She was accompanied by safety pilot Ronnell Norman, a certified commercial pilot, and Major Levi H. Thornhill, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot who at age 87, is a member of the elite Tuskegee Airmen who served during World War II. It took her 13 days to complete the flight The miles flown were 2,342.
Anyadike took her first flying lessons at the age of 12, attending an after-school aviation program offered by Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum for disadvantaged youths. She was inspired to take lessons after reading about Jonathan Strickland, an earlier participant of the program who became the youngest person to fly a fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter solo in a single day.Anyadike paid for her flight lessons with “museum dollars” earned by washing airplanes and working odd jobs around Compton Airport. As part of the program’s requirements, she maintained a strong academic record throughout the period
Despite having a fear of heights, Anyadike says that being in the cockpit of a plane is “an amazing experience
Anyadike was accompanied by an adult safety pilot, and by a retired Air Force pilot who had served with the WWII Tuskegee Airmen. Her plane was autographed by about 50 Tuskegee airmen as she stopped at different cities across the US, and she completed the round-trip journey in a single-engine Cessna 172 in 13 days.
In 2015, Anyadike received the first Young Aviator’s Award from the Tuskegee Airmen in recognition of her achievements. In 2016, she graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with an undergraduate degree.
Anyadike enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), majoring in physiological science with minors in African-American studies and Spanish. During her senior year, she was also working as a registered emergency medical technician and was volunteering for her local chapter of the Flying Samaritans to bring medical care to Tijuana, Mexico.She graduated with her undergraduate degree from UCLA in June 2016. When asked about future aspirations, Anyadike has said that she plans to enroll in medical school and become a cardiovascular surgeon