ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico woman got to live out a lifelong dream over the weekend alongside some of the world’s top pilots.

“I’ve lived here in Alamogordo, for a decade, and in this community, you’re going to find the most amazing people,” Dr. Michelle Perry said.

Perry has spent her entire career giving back to her beloved community – teaching first and then moving onto sharing her passion on a much larger scale.

“I started a company, an educational consulting company and Learn New Mexico is the name of that company. We have now branched into another company called Learn Immersive, which really focuses on the support educators need to use immersive virtual reality as an educational tool,” she said.
  
Saturday, her community gave back to her by honoring her for a “Hometown Hero” flight with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Demonstration Team.

Perry said one night she and her friends were sitting around the dinner table talking about the upcoming are show and the nomination process. Perry said one of her biggest dreams would be to go up in a jet.

So, her close friend, Lorri Black, made that dream come true, nominating her for the honor.

Perry said getting the opportunity holds special meaning for her because her dad was stationed at Holloman as part of a 26-year career in the Air Force, and that’s why she first came to Alamogordo.

She said she couldn’t wait to tell her dad the news.  

“He was silent. He was like, that is unbelievable. So yeah, it was just wordless,” she said.

Some might panic at the thought of flying faster than the speed of sound, but Perry had no worries.

“Apparently there’s a 9G club and so I’m aiming for that. I want to i want to do that,” Perry said about her goals for the flight.

Perry spent her morning learning how to breathe and tense her body to keep from passing out, and crews when through extensive gear fitting for her too.

Through the whole process, it was never lost on Perry what she was doing.

“These boots are very large to fill literally and figuratively, and so, I’m really, I’m really honored,” Perry said as she was zipping up her flight suit.

Her family watched as the crew buckled her into the F-16 fighter jet, and then the canopy closed, and they were ready for takeoff.

Perry called the experience otherworldly.  

“There’s a lot of adrenaline but it was the most amazing feeling when you’re flying at that altitude, and you can see nothing but blue above you and you’re in the clouds and under the clouds going all over this area. I thought for a second like this, this is what heaven would be like i know it,” she said after coming back down to Earth after an hour flight in the jet.

She was also eager to report that after all the barrel rolls and vertical climbs she didn’t pass out or throw up. That’s no small feat either because Perry accomplished her goal.

“I did get to ride 9G. And so yeah, it was a lot of pressure, everything just got real tight. But because i was prepared well, by the Thunderbird staff and all of the air women and men, I knew exactly what to do,” Perry said about lasting through that kind of pressure.

She said admiring her city from above put everything else into perspective.

“You have to make sure you’re living every moment, every single moment on this earth is a blessing. And when you experience something from that elevation, you see the whole landscape out in front of you as far as the eye can see. You know, it’s such a short life, you know, and you get one chance to do this and do this well.”

For more information on Perry’s work in the community, click here.