Photo provided by Macomb Intermediate School District
IAM junior one of fewer than 700 teen female pilots in United States
CLINTON TOWNSHIP Nicolina Buccilli is on her own flight plan.
Buccilli, a 16-year-old International Academy of Macomb junior from New Baltimore, is part of a select group of people: she is one of 691 female pilots in the 16-19 age range in the country.
Her passion for aviation began when she was around 9 years old and in the fifth grade. Her mother discovered a Department of Defense-sponsored program called STARBASE, offered locally through Selfridge Air National Guard Base, that incorporates science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, experiences.