AMERICUS — When she was nine years old, Chonnipa Katnitee or “Leo” as she likes to be called in America, traveled to an airport for the first time in her young life. She went with her mother to see her father off. She saw “beautiful ladies in uniforms, always smiling, waving, and carrying bags boarding the airplanes,” and she told herself, “one day that will be me.”

 South Georgia Technical College has helped Chonnipa Katnitee or “Leo” take that first step toward achieving her dream. She has been accepted into the Delta Airlines Flight Attendant School in Atlanta where she will undergo 12-weeks of training to become a flight attendant.

 Chonnipa Katnitee moved to America and Sumter County from Thailand almost two years ago with her mother, Sugunya Nash, and her step father, Malcolm Nash, who is from here. She and her mother both have permanent 10-year VISA’s to live in the United States. Their VISA’s have to be renewed every 10-years.

 Leo graduated from high school in Thailand, but she enrolled in South Georgia Technical College’s Adult Education department at the Stein Center in Americus to get her American diploma or GED and learn English.

 She has been taking classes at the Stein Center for about four months and with the help of her instructors, Alice Green and Chandra Spires, Leo got up enough courage to apply online for the Delta Flight Attendant School and was accepted. She learned that they would accept her Thailand high school diploma, so she does not have to complete her GED studies. She left for Atlanta this week but is so happy that she signed up with South Georgia Tech’s adult education classes because that led her to realize her dream.

 “I am so happy to be in America. It has been hard to learn a new language and come to a new country, but I am so happy we are here. South Georgia Tech and my teachers helped me to feel powerful or believe in myself. I feel like if you want something bad enough here, you can do it,” said Leo.

 Leo is 19 years old and speaks four languages including Thai or Laos, Chinese, Japanese, and now English. “I love Thailand and I love the United States. I am so excited about the possibility of being a flight attendant because I feel like airplanes are what connects me to both of the countries that I love,” laughed Leo.

 The shy Thailand native didn’t actually get to fly on an airplane until she was 14 and flew to Malaysia from Thailand. “Every time I went to the airport, I dreamed of being one of those beautiful smiling ladies boarding the planes and now I have the opportunity to become one,” said Leo.

 Leo’s mother, Sugunya and her stepfather, Malcolm, are both very proud of her. She has come a long way,” said Malcolm, who met Leo’s mother when he was vacationing in Thailand. He was working in Saudi Arabia with the oil companies at the time and traveled to Thailand. The two met through a family connection and have now been married for about three and a half years.  They moved back to America and Sumter County about two years ago.

 “I had seen the United States on television and in the movies and I couldn’t wait to get here,” laughed Leo. However, she admitted that what she saw in the movies and on TV was more like New York or California than South Georgia. “I like it but it was not exactly what I was expecting.”

 Sugunya and Malcolm Nash are very proud of what Leo has been able to accomplish and are thankful for what South Georgia Tech’s Adult Education instructors have done to help Leo. “We will miss her, but we are excited that she has this opportunity to fly and become self sufficient and do something that she has always dreamed of doing,” said Sugunya. “I know she can do it!”

 South Georgia Technical College’s GED classes are free to the public. To enroll in a GED class near you, contact the South Georgia Technical College Adult Education Department at 229.931.7323. For more information about South Georgia Technical College visit the website at www.southgatech.edu.

 The college is currently registering for Fall Semester. Classes begin August 24th. For more information contact the Admissions office at 229-931-2760 in Americus or 229-271-4051 in Cordele.