Letter 57 - She was the 1st Female Thunderbird!
Hello Bregdan Woman,
Ginny here today…
Do you remember what you wanted to do when you were five years old? I’ll admit I have no idea, but what about you?
Are you doing what you dreamed of doing at five?
I don’t know many women who are, but Nicole Malachowski is an exception. Let’s take a look at this extraordinary Bregdan Woman!
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"Hey guess what I saw on Saturday?" Nicole squealed with delight. Her friends looked up from coloring their pictures and waited for her to answer.
"I went to an air show and saw a real fighter jet. It swooped through the sky and one day I am going to fly airplanes."
Nicole stopped talking then, stood and gazed out the school room window. Looking up to the sky, her imagination soared as the clouds wisped through the air. She could only imagine the feel of a real airplane beneath her hands. She dreamed and dreamed of soaring through the blue sky.
"Nicole? Nicole? Are you coming? We are going outside."
Her friends’ call interrupted her dream, but only temporarily. She knew what she wanted. And all she had to do was look up to the sun, and she knew where, one day, she would be.
United States Air Force Major Nicole Malachowski was only 5 years old when she knew what she wanted to be when she grew up. She attended an air show and the sight of an F-4 Phantom fighter jet roaring through the clouds captured her heart and dreams.
Once she set her sights on the sky, her feet have rarely been on the ground.
Nicole appreciates her parents' belief in her – in her dreams -- encouraging her tenacity and offering her courage to follow those dreams.
During an interview, Nicole remembers when she would ramble on about becoming a fighter pilot: "They would often ask me rhetorical questions to get me thinking. Questions like, ‘So you're going to be a fighter pilot? How does one become a fighter pilot?'"
Nicole figured out the answers… Instead of chasing boys through junior high, Nicole chased down pilot instructors, airplanes, flying lessons and cockpits.
She started flying at age 12.
She was flying solo by age 16!
After school she rode her bike to the airport until she got her driver's license. She was flying before she could drive!!
Nicole is an amazing Bregdan Woman whose dreams have taken her literally to the top of the world.
After graduating from the Air Force Academy, and working there as an instructor pilot, a conversation with her husband prompted her to land the wildest ride she had ever taken.
"Honey, you should try out. You're qualified. I think you might make it."
"Really? You really think I should apply? Really? Actually, I've not thought about that. But you really think I could?"
Her husband, Major Paul Malachowski, was no stranger to airplanes. As an F-15 weapons system officer evaluator, he was more than able to judge his wife's ability.
So, with her husband’s words of encouragement and his deep belief in her ringing in her ears, Nicole applied for and was granted a position with the elite and selective U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron . . . or as they are better known, the Thunderbirds.
With that selection, she flew into history books.
Major Nicole Malachowski is the very first woman ever in its history, to pilot an F-16 Fighting Falcon.
"The Air Force has so many great opportunities out there, and all you have to do is apply," she said. "It never hurts to try, does it?"
That statement deserves repeating…
“IT NEVER HURTS TO TRY, DOES IT?”
As a Bregdan Woman, this should be one of our mantras of living.
Nicole has inspired not only me, but thousands of people everywhere who watched her fly that Falcon fighter jet screaming across the noble blue skies.
As part of the public relations organization for the Air Force, Nicole has spoken to hundreds of children across the globe, telling them… “Pursue your dreams, because they can come true!”
"I hope (my) service in the Thunderbirds is an example to young girls and to all children that they can achieve their dreams . . . it's great to have a dream; it's great to have goals," she said. "Pursue something that you are passionate about, and then pursue excellence in that. And surround yourself with a positive team. I hope that when they see the Air Force Thunderbirds, they realize they can achieve any dream. I think I am living proof that dreams do come true."
Today, you probably won't strap yourself into the cockpit of a Fighter jet and soar above the city. I know I won't - as much as I would love to!
But I WILL step out into a world where my dreams of reaching 1 MILLION WOMEN around the world with these letters will come true.
You and I are no different than Major Nicole Malachowski. She may skyrocket through the skies at top speeds, but her life is lived one day at a time. One goal at a time. One dream at a time. You and I can take on things the same way she does . . . one step at a time. And if we don't quit, don't give up, then we too will reach the heights of our dreams!
Today be like Nicole . . . grab hold of your dreams with a child-like belief and passion and NEVER let go!!
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Now… this story that I shared with you today was actually written almost 20 years ago. In 2016, Nicole was faced with a brand-new challenge – one that stole her flying career and shattered her dreams.
I’ll share what happened in tomorrow’s letter…
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What will you do to be a Bregdan Woman?
What will you do today to impact history??
We’re on this journey with you… (and have 2 FREE Gifts for you below…)
Ginny & Suess
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