MAXTON —Barrington Irving knows what it is like to be young and facing unlikely odds.
The pilot was in Maxton Thursday to tell other young people that they can achieve any goal they set for themselves.
Irving, who holds the record as the youngest pilot to fly around the world, spoke to a group of about 150 Carver Middle School Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Academy students, who crowded into an airplane hanger at the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport to hear his story.
“It doesn’t matter who much revenue you have or don’t have, anyone can make it in this country and that is what makes this country so great,” Irving said.
Kingston Jamaica native, who was raised in Miami, has been featured in National Geographic for flying solo around the world in 2007, at the age of 23. He became the youngest person to do that in a single-engine airplane. The trip took a total of 97 days, and spanned 30,000 miles in a single-engine plane called “Inspiration.”
“Now I travel and talk at schools all across the nation, large cities and small communities, but this is the first time we have had the chance to bring kids to their local airport.”
This was Irving’s first trip to rural North Carolina to speak with students and share his experience and provide a hands-on lesson on how aviation can strengthen student’s understanding of the STEM curriculum.
“Yes I fly planes, but I do some much more outside of that, whether it’s tracking down sea snakes, or jumping out of
Article source: http://laurinburgexchange.com/news/9983/famed-pilot-helps-scotland-stem-students-soar