Personal flight concierge Davia-Marie Chin was introduced to the career path at Meadowbrook High School.

DAVIA-MARIE Chin walked into 2023 as a certified flight instructor (CFI) — a dream that she said was marred by many setbacks.

The 29-year-old, who is also a personal flight concierge in private aviation, was introduced to the career path at Meadowbrook High School and knew immediately that it was the one for her.

“After accomplishing my goal of passing the CFI exam on December 28, 2022, gosh! I felt truly proud of myself as well as encouraged, because now I can really help someone achieve their passion of tasting flight. I also felt empowered because completing this certificate was a huge undertaking — I’ve faced many roadblocks through my journey,” Chin told the Jamaica Observer.

“From not having the financial backing, as flight training is extremely expensive, the year 2020 was especially taxing as I was down to working two days a week working an hourly job which, honestly, was just enough money to pay for gas so all the money I had saved to complete training went into daily expenses to buy groceries and pay rent and other bills,” she continued, noting that she also lost her grandmother in 2020, “which was just extremely heartbreaking and took a strong toll on me emotionally”.

Chin was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, where she lived with both parents and an…