Four students studying to become professional pilots at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University have been named recipients of $25,000 scholarships that honor aviation luminary Bob Hoover.
The Oct. 23 reception to present the awards at the university’s Daytona Beach, Florida, campus also featured a display of the design of a future Bob Hoover Hall of Honor, to be located in the campus’s flight operations building. Hoover, the renowned World War II fighter pilot, test pilot, and airshow performer, attended the event.
The Citation Jet Pilots Association funded two Bob Hoover Presidential Scholarships. The Bob Hoover Legacy Foundation funded two Bob Hoover Foundation Presidential Scholarships, Embry-Riddle said in a news release. Scholarship recipients were selected for "academic excellence, leadership skills, service to others, work ethic, financial need and a written essay demonstrating their passion for, and commitment to, the aviation industry."
Scholarship recipient Dakota Foster is a sophomore, on track toward an airline pilot career. The aeronautical science major at the Daytona beach campus also carries a minor in aviation safety, and is a member of Embry-Riddle’s Women’s Ambassador Program, meeting with middle-school girls to encourage them to pursue aviation education and careers.
Robert Morgan, a senior and aeronautical science major at Embry-Riddle’s Prescott, Arizona, campus, was selected as a scholarship recipient. After graduation, Morgan plans to attend Officer Training School and become an Air Force pilot. He credited his leadership skills to the Boy Scouts of America. In 2010 he was honored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars from more than 60,000 applicants as the National Scout of the Year, Embry-Riddle said.
Achyut Nair, a junior at the Daytona Beach campus, who is taking two majors, in aeronautical science and aerospace engineering, also was a scholarship recipient. He plans to work at his alma mater as a flight instructor after graduation, and then as an airline pilot. His ultimate career goal is "starting his own airline," Embry-Riddle said. Nair also mentors new Embry-Riddle flight students as a participant in the university’s Flight Line Assimilation Program.
Aeronautical science major Anna Robinson, a junior at the Daytona Beach campus, received a scholarship in recognition of her academic accomplishments and her service as a student assistant at Embry-Riddle’s Flight Dispatch Center and FAA Testing Center. Robinson also serves as an Embry-Riddle Orientation Ambassador, helping new students adjust to the campus environment.
"We’re very grateful to CJP and the Bob Hoover Foundation for these generous scholarships," said Embry-Riddle President John P. Johnson. "All of these bright young people are high achievers who possess the talent, enthusiasm and determination to excel in their future careers."
Giants of aviation already inducted into the future Bob Hoover Hall of Honor include astronaut Neil Armstrong, military aviator Jimmy Doolittle, and aviation pioneer Jackie Cochran, said the announcement.
