Her sadness over the death of her mother did not stand in the way of her dreams.
Instead, Merola Maged used her grief to push herself to follow her childhood dream to make her mother happy, eventually becoming the first female captain pilot from Upper Egypt to obtain a flight license – all alongside her studies at the Faculty of Mass Communication, Radio and Television Department.
From Assiut Governorate, Merola, age 20, was able to obtain three flight licenses; becoming the first female captain pilot to obtain the third license from Assiut and the youngest girl to reach this stage.
The Upper Egyptian woman’s journey all started with a childhood dream of breaking into the world of aviation.
She said: “I am the one who chose my dream, which started from the first time I entered an airport. I was happy with the place and amazed by everything in it, and I wanted to be a part of it, but I didn’t know from where to start, until I decided to be a captain myself.”
“At first, my father was nervous about the idea of studying aviation, because he is a pediatrician and most of the family are doctors and engineers.”
Her dream came to light with great encouragement from her family, as she eventually received strong support from her father, who did not insist that his daughter should join the same profession as him, and gave her the freedom to choose her own path.
Merola added: “In the beginning, I faced many difficulties, such as being an expatriate for a girl from Upper Egypt. Basically, you are supposed to be with your father, and the college is strange. No one here has entered it and we don’t know anyone there. But my father always encouraged me to follow my dream.”
Regarding her life-long passion for flying, Merola said: “I have been on a plane a lot since I was young as a traveler, and every time I have been amazed. I thought that the amazement would diminish with time, but I did not get bored. Now, every time I ride a plane as a captain, I feel like it is the first time and I enjoy it very much.”
She flew a plane for 36 hours alone to achieve her childhood dream of becoming a captain pilot.
After graduating from the Faculty of Aviation, she continued her additional studies at the Faculty of Mass Communication.
Merola advised families to always support their children, saying: “If it weren’t for my family’s support, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve what I have achieved.”
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
