Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart has been one of my role models since I was little. I remember doing a report on her life when I was eight and showing up to school dressed as her. She was born in Atchison, Kansas in 1897. As a kid, she moved around a lot and always displayed an adventurous spirit. She started going to Ogontz School for college, but after a visit with her sister, she decided to leave that school and become a nurse's aide. After taking a First Aid course, she moved to Toronto and began caring for injured soldiers from World War One. She loved it a lot, and that motivated her to go to Columbia University to study premed. In 1920, her parents wanted her to move back home, so she left Columbia and went to California, where they were living. This is where she found her love of flying. After riding in an airplane, she was determined to become a pilot herself. She worked all sorts of odd jobs while trying to pay for flying lessons. Sources disagree on whether or not she bought her first plane in 1921 or 1922, but it was a Kinner Airster. She worked hard to get her pilot's license, but continued to maintain more traditional day jobs at first. She worked as a social worker at a settlement home for immigrants in Boston. This was where her reputation as an aviation hero and feminist icon started: she was selected by her future husband, George P. Putnam, to become the first female passenger to fly across the Atlantic. She wasn't flying the plane, but she became an icon. She went on a speaking tour and wrote a book. She was determined to prove that she was worthy of the attention. After marrying George P. Putnam, she piloted an autogiro to a record breaking height. She continued her career under her maiden name, which was pretty unheard of for women at the time. In 1932, Amelia crossed the Atlantic again; this time, she was the pilot, alone in the plane. After experiencing mechanical problems, she landed in Northern Ireland instead of her scheduled destination of Paris. Even after landing in a different location and experiencing tons of trouble, her flight broke records. She arrived in only 14 hours and 56 minutes, which was record breaking for the time. She was the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic. She used her fame to encourage women to be ambitious and break gender roles. She started an organization of female pilots called the Ninety-Nines in 1929. She designed a fashion line for women based on practicality. She didn't stop breaking records then. She became the first person, regardless of gender, to fly solo from Hawaii to California. She landed in Oakland in 1935. In the same year, she became the first person to fly solo from Los Angeles to Mexico City. Two years later, Amelia disappeared. In 1937, she had plans to fly around the world with Fred Noonan as her navigator. The two set off from Miami on June 2nd. After a few stops, she planned to stop on Howland Island on July 2nd. She communicated to a cost guard ship that she was running out of fuel, and told the ship she was "running North and South." That was the last thing anyone heard from her. People searched everywhere, but on July 19th, all searches were called off. Amelia and Fred were declared lost at sea. Her fate remains a mystery to this day, and different theories have suggested what may have happened. She was an inspiration, and she continues to inspire people today.

Sources: 
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Amelia-Earhart
http://www.ameliaearhartmuseum.org/AmeliaEarhart/AEBiography.htm