Michelle 'Mace' Curran

And that was how I started down that path. But even for the first couple of years in that program, I was a criminal justice major. I wanted to be an FBI agent or work for the CIA. And I still didn't know that I wanted to be a pilot. That kind of came halfway through college when I actually saw my first fighter jet. I'd never seen one.

And that was how I started down that path. But even for the first couple of years in that program, I was a criminal justice major. I wanted to be an FBI agent or work for the CIA. And I still didn't know that I wanted to be a pilot. That kind of came halfway through college when I actually saw my first fighter jet. I'd never seen one.

Here I am probably 20 years old, never seen a fighter aircraft fly. but I'm about to be in the Air Force in just a couple of years because you owe some time back when they pay for your education. And we visited a base and I saw a jet taking off in full afterburner with like the loud jet noise that vibrates your body, the afterburner flame shooting out the back. And I was like,

Here I am probably 20 years old, never seen a fighter aircraft fly. but I'm about to be in the Air Force in just a couple of years because you owe some time back when they pay for your education. And we visited a base and I saw a jet taking off in full afterburner with like the loud jet noise that vibrates your body, the afterburner flame shooting out the back. And I was like,

Here I am probably 20 years old, never seen a fighter aircraft fly. but I'm about to be in the Air Force in just a couple of years because you owe some time back when they pay for your education. And we visited a base and I saw a jet taking off in full afterburner with like the loud jet noise that vibrates your body, the afterburner flame shooting out the back. And I was like,

And holy crap, I want to do that. It was just like a visceral reaction. I got so excited. I had never experienced that before. And it was an immediate decision to pivot and figure out what I needed to do to become a pilot.

And holy crap, I want to do that. It was just like a visceral reaction. I got so excited. I had never experienced that before. And it was an immediate decision to pivot and figure out what I needed to do to become a pilot.

And holy crap, I want to do that. It was just like a visceral reaction. I got so excited. I had never experienced that before. And it was an immediate decision to pivot and figure out what I needed to do to become a pilot.

So I appreciate that you had that moment where you're like, wait a minute, this is calling to me like this is something bigger than me. Right. I totally, totally get that. However, most people, when they have that moment, they try to dismiss it. Like, who am I to say I could fly a fighter jet? Like, what do I know about this?

So I appreciate that you had that moment where you're like, wait a minute, this is calling to me like this is something bigger than me. Right. I totally, totally get that. However, most people, when they have that moment, they try to dismiss it. Like, who am I to say I could fly a fighter jet? Like, what do I know about this?

So I appreciate that you had that moment where you're like, wait a minute, this is calling to me like this is something bigger than me. Right. I totally, totally get that. However, most people, when they have that moment, they try to dismiss it. Like, who am I to say I could fly a fighter jet? Like, what do I know about this?

How am I going to how are you able to drop that imposter syndrome or transition from this one lifestyle to what could be possible for you?

How am I going to how are you able to drop that imposter syndrome or transition from this one lifestyle to what could be possible for you?

How am I going to how are you able to drop that imposter syndrome or transition from this one lifestyle to what could be possible for you?

I definitely didn't drop the imposter syndrome. It was something that I struggled with for a lot of my career, and we can talk more about that. I think the excitement was just so apparent to me that that kind of, for that moment at least, overrode all of those doubts.

I definitely didn't drop the imposter syndrome. It was something that I struggled with for a lot of my career, and we can talk more about that. I think the excitement was just so apparent to me that that kind of, for that moment at least, overrode all of those doubts.

I definitely didn't drop the imposter syndrome. It was something that I struggled with for a lot of my career, and we can talk more about that. I think the excitement was just so apparent to me that that kind of, for that moment at least, overrode all of those doubts.

Those definitely came later as I got into the meat of becoming a fighter pilot and realized that there was a lot more to it than I thought. It was a lot more difficult than I thought. And there were a lot of intricacies of the demands of it, the culture fitting in, not being a lot of women in that field. So there's a whole bunch more to go into there.

Those definitely came later as I got into the meat of becoming a fighter pilot and realized that there was a lot more to it than I thought. It was a lot more difficult than I thought. And there were a lot of intricacies of the demands of it, the culture fitting in, not being a lot of women in that field. So there's a whole bunch more to go into there.

Those definitely came later as I got into the meat of becoming a fighter pilot and realized that there was a lot more to it than I thought. It was a lot more difficult than I thought. And there were a lot of intricacies of the demands of it, the culture fitting in, not being a lot of women in that field. So there's a whole bunch more to go into there.