Vincy is airline captain in Nigeria

A Vincentian woman is now the captain of an international commercial airline. This feat is just one of many achieved by Rochelle Roache, 33, originally from Bequia.{{more}}

While growing up, Roache attended the St Joseph’s Convent Kingstown where she wrote 11 CXC subjects. She became one of the first students to attend the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College.

After leaving school, her first job was as an Air Traffic controller at the E.T. Joshua airport, after which, in 2001, she travelled to Canada, where she obtained professional training as a pilot.

Truly an ambitious soul, it is believed that Roache is the first female Vincentian to pilot a plane in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

After stints at LIAT and Caribbean Star, Roache was offered a job in Nigeria, flying one of Africa’s largest commercial airlines.

This year, she was promoted to captain of an international commercial airline, which, it is believed, is a first for a Vincentian woman.

Roache’s mother Marilyn shared her daughter’s successes in an interview with SEARCHLIGHT.

“I am feeling so proud,” Marilyn gushed.

“The extra hard work that I have put in to get her to where she is, it’s paying off”.

Marilyn admitted that at first, she was very resistant to Roache’s idea of a career, particularly because she thought that it was a man’s job.

“The bird is for the air, not you,” is what the proud mother said she had told her daughter.

Describing her daughter as independent and straightforward, Marilyn stated that it was not long before her third child convinced her to let her pursue piloting.

“She said ‘Mommy, you’re not the one pushing me. I’m the one who wants to do it and if I get disappointed, I’ll blame myself’,” Marilyn said.

“Just by saying those few words, she changed my mind.”

Marilyn said she feels that it is extremely important that parents allow their children to set goals and fulfill them.

“If there is a child and they have that ability to do whatever they want to do, don’t stop them. Once you have a means of helping…they know what they want. They are the ones going to it, not you the parents,” the mother said.

Marilyn also expressed pride in her three other children, Eleacia, Nadia and Vashka, who also have been able to fulfill their goals.

Rochelle recently married Stewart Lanza, a pilot for a cargo airline in the United States.