Take advantage of aviation scholarships

Funds offered for flight training, aviation education

September 29, 2014 By Benét J. Wilson

Every month, AOPA highlights aviation scholarship opportunities for those wishing to learn how to fly or those wanting to pursue aviation as a career. Those who have won scholarships to help pay for their aviation dreams are also featured. This month, check out scholarships for flight training, airport management, aviation engineering, and more.

Scholarship opportunities

The Aircraft Electronics Association Educational Foundation will award more than 20 scholarships totaling more than $125,000 for the 2015-16 school year to students pursuing a career in avionics or aircraft maintenance, as well as students from AEA member companies.

The Whirly-Girls Scholarship Fund, Inc. has opened applications for 12 scholarships covering everything from advanced mountain flight training to the Whirly-Girls Memorial Flight Training Scholarship. The deadline to apply is Oct. 15.

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation annually awards financial aid to undergraduate and graduate students in science or engineering programs related to aerospace. The foundation's undergraduate program offers scholarships to college sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and recipients can apply to renew their scholarship annually until they graduate. Graduate students doing research in the air and space sciences can apply for scholarships. The deadline to apply is Jan. 31, 2015.

The Air Traffic Control Association is offering four scholarships. The Gabriel A. Hartl Scholarship is for those enrolled in an ATC curriculum at an FAA-approved institution. The Lawrence C. Fortier Memorial Scholarship is for students enrolled half- to full-time in a program leading to a bachelor's degree or higher in an aviation-related course of study. The Full-Time Employee Student Scholarship is for those enrolled in advanced study programs to improve their skills in ATC or an aviation-related discipline. The Buckingham Memorial Scholarship is for U.S. citizen children of air traffic control specialists enrolled half- to full-time in a program leading to a bachelor's degree or higher. The deadline to apply is May 1, 2015.

Scholarship winners

The National Air Transportation Foundation chose Evan Austin Reese, a freshman at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, as the recipient of its 2014 Navigate Your Future Scholarship. The scholarship helps rising professionals in continuing their education in aviation-related fields.

Boeing Flight Services named the recipients of three $5,000 flight training scholarships to flight students who have scored 70 percent or better on their FAA written exam and also made their first solo flight. The winners are Amy Dahlheimer, 19, of Howard Lake, Minnesota; Benjamin Lillie, 17, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts; and Shelby Scorse, 17, of Lunenburg, Massachusetts. Dahlheimer is a sophomore at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where she is majoring in professional flight. Lillie is a high school senior who plans to attend Liberty University to pursue a degree in aeronautics with a specialization in corporate/commercial operations. Shelby is a high school senior and plans to attend either the University of North Dakota or Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to pursue a degree in aviation science.

The Commemorative Air Force selected four students to receive scholarships in 2014. The recipients are Shafer Hunt, Lindsey Hurley, Amanda Ratliff, and repeat recipient Carisma Gutierrez. Scholarships were awarded to outstanding college students in Texas who are pursuing an education in the fields of aviation or aerospace. Hunt is a senior at LeTourneau University in Longview and is majoring in mission aviation with a concentration in maintenance. Hurley is an aviation science major at Baylor University in Waco. Ratliff is an aviation studies major at LeTourneau University. Gutierrez is a senior at the University of Houston, majoring in public relations with a minor in Air Force management.