I used to work for a UK mobile retail store however, my real passion lay elsewhere. Having flown with the Royal Air Force Reserves at Southampton University, I won a trip to Co-pilot an RAF jet. This was to become a moment that would change my life.

Thanks to Graham Turner, a business mentor at Finito, he recognised that I really wanted to become a pilot and discarded my every excuse as to why I shouldn’t pursue my real dream.

He helped me to put a plan together, researching the requirements needed for me to join a commercial training program. Under his guidance, I applied to Oxford Aviation and was accepted.

Graham mentored me over the 24-month training period, keeping me focused in addition to practicing my interview skills and techniques over Zoom calls to improve my confidence.

I was accepted into the program and became the best candidate in the group having been originally selected from thousands of applicants. lt looked good and everything was going to plan. However, the final stage required me to have a medical and to my great surprise I received the news that I had been rejected because of a heart condition – paroxysmal atrial. I underwent a simple heart operation that reset my heartbeat. Unfortunately, I then had to wait a year before I could be assessed. During the delay, in addition to Covid restrictions, Graham kept me motivated and focused.

In the interim, I took the opportunity of continuing my studies. In August 2020,  I was accepted by EasyJet and passed not only with flying colours, but all 14 exams first time.