I am from Congo in Africa. Back home, I was a journalist. Then when I came here, I thought 鈥 I need to do something else. Why not try working with my hands? Before AIM, I was working at the ramp at American Airlines. I started in 2021. I met a mechanic who told me about the work, and I thought 鈥 oh my God, I need to do this.
My experience was pretty good. I came with zero aviation experience, but I was excited to learn. It was my first time working on an aircraft, and they put me with good people. All of the AIM teachers helped me a lot. Everything I have now, I got from AIM.
I work night shift at land maintenance. They assign you one aircraft, maybe two or three mechanics depending on the job. Sometimes the job takes all night; sometimes it only takes a couple of hours. But every time I鈥檓 given a job, I try to do my best.
Before, I was working on the bags 鈥 now, I鈥檓 working with my hands to fix aircraft. What we do on the ground keeps people flying safely. That鈥檚 what I can say.
The A&P certificate gave me a lot of opportunities. When I was in school, I kept telling people, 鈥淣ow is the best time to go to school 鈥 time goes fast and there鈥檚 a lot of opportunity in A&P.鈥
I want to thank all the instructors at AIM Charlotte and everyone else there. They鈥檙e doing such a good job helping people change their lives. I thank them all.