Huang Meihua takes a selfie in a grassy area with a lot of trees in the background. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
"Upon entering the school, Huang didn't understand English. During her first semester, she scored 66 out of 100 in English, but she was quick-witted and studied very hard to receive a score of 98 the following semester," her teacher Yi Jing said.
"Since that second semester, she has been a top student in her class of 20 and is very good in English, biology and chemistry. When she talks with foreign teachers, she is fluent in English," Yi said.
In December, Huang applied for a pilot training program at the Imperial Canadian Flying School when it enrolled trainees from the Guangya School.
Moved by her story and enterprising spirit, the school offered her free training in Vancouver for three weeks in March, covering all her living expenses.
"One does not need feet to fly a plane. As a straight-A student most of time, I believe I can be a pilot," Huang said.
Real flights are different from the analogue machine. After training for a certain amount of time, the trainer took Huang and another trainee to a fixed wing aircraft.
"After the aircraft took off and was stable, the trainer let me experience the handling of the joystick. It seemed to be lighter than that of the analogue machine. I touched the joystick very lightly and the aircraft became turbulent unexpectedly. That made my co-trainee's face turn pale," Huang said.
After receiving additional training, she became better at piloting the aircraft. When she operated the aircraft independently for the first time, she finished all the flight procedures except landing.
If she wants to get a flight permit, she will have to do another 40 hours of theoretical study and accumulate 50 hours of flight time.
"The headmaster offered me much help in realizing my dream of flying. He also wants to encourage others to realize their dreams using my story as an example," she said.
"Huang always has a smile on her face. Despite her disability, she has confidence," her classmates said.
"The school treats disabled students as equals and has allowed her to participate in all activities such as dancing and physical education," said Xu Wencan, Huang's classmate.
While studying at the Guangya School, Huang was wheelchaired to class by her mother, 44-year-old Yan Xiaorong.
Huang will be alone during her four-year stay at the UBC. But she is confident she will adapt well to life there.
"Canada is friendlier to handicapped people with its public facilities," she said.
