Born to a military family in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Custodio went on to become the first Latina US military pilot. She served in the United States Air Force (USAF) for 24 years, retiring in 2003 as a Lieutenant Colonel with over 11,000 hours of flight time logged.
While in the USAF Reserves, Custodio was hired to fly for American Airlines, making her one of the first Latina commercial pilots. Of her career, Custodio said: “My mantra is ‘Querer es poder.’ I believe everyone has the potential to do it. They just have to believe in themselves enough to actually do it.”
