IT is a quiet day in the small, southeastern town of Rio Claro in Trinidad. A little girl named Kerissa Khan is playing outdoors, having the time of her life.

But then she spots some white trails across the sky and hears a thunderous sound. Is it a bird? No. Is it a plane? Yes. It is the Concorde, moving faster than the speed of sound, and little Kerissa is fascinated.

But who knew decades later, she would grow up to become one of the world’s leading aeronautical professionals?

Khan is now an aeronautical engineer and the second woman and youngest person ever to become the president of the Royal Aeronautical Society in the UK.

Born and raised in TT, she told WMN she enjoyed growing up in a country with “such a diverse community.

“I loved growing up in Rio Claro and Mayaro.

“We (TT) are, as you know, a melting pot of ethnicities and backgrounds and religions, and you just have a unique opportunity to grow up with such a rich, diverse culture and that embeds into who you are.”

Now, having lived in countries that include Scotland, England, Canada and France, she says those experiences were “just not the same” as home. She currently lives in London.

Growing up, she was an “outdoor kid” who loved basking in good weather and regularly going to the beach.

“It is (an experience) I would never replace.”

It was also during her childhood that she was bombarded with fun facts about aeroplanes by her older brother Shirayd Khan as they watched the Concorde flying above.

Concorde flew commercially from 1976-2003 and was the world’s first supersonic, commercial aeroplane. As soon as Khan started to speak about it in her interview with WMN, her eyes lit up and her voice got high and squeaky. She was very excited to explain how it all began.

“He (my brother) was constantly explaining how they work. He used to say, ‘Do you know that sonic boom what you’re hearing – that aircraft flies faster than the speed of sound?’

“I was like, ‘What? How can it do that?’ and I was so drawn in to this aircraft. I was obsessed, to be honest. I was intrigued by something groundbreaking, and to know there are people who make that possible…I wanted to be one of those people who could make things that seem impossible possible.”

When she attended ASJA Primary School in Princes Town, she loved maths and science. Although she did not reveal her age, the only hint she gave was that she wrote Common Entrance and not the SEA exam.

“I just enjoyed learning new things. I was always curious and fascinated by anything that is really captivating in science.”

And by the time she moved on to Naparima Girls’ High School in San Fernando, she knew what field she wanted to enter.

[caption id="attachment_1070693" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Kerissa Khan with her top table guests at her inauguration banquet including her brother Shirayd Khan, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell,the Japanese Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Senior Executives from NASA, UK Space Agency, Airbus, Boeing, Royal Air Force[/caption]

“I genuinely looked forwa