Wendy Okolo is the first black woman to bag a Doctorate Degree in Aerospace Engineering, anywhere on the Planet.

She had her secondary school education at Queens college in Lagos state, an all girls secondary school, before proceeding to the United States, where she received her B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2010 and 2015 respectively.

Okolo’s career has taken flight at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the U.S. agency responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.

She was only 26 years old when she became the first black woman to obtain a PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Okolo was part of the team that flew the world fastest manned aircraft, which flew from coast to coast in 67 minutes — this normally takes over five hours.