You Can Fly: Jumpstarting their Lives

Funded by donations to the AOPA Foundation, these scholarships open pathways to lives in aviation while helping secure general aviation’s future. The AOPA High School Flight Training Scholarship Program is part of the You Can Fly High School Aviation Initiative, which is working to create and support more high school aviation STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs. One recipient of a 2016 scholarship has earned his private pilot certificate, another has soloed, and the rest are all out flying.

He couldn’t believe it

Andrew Treulich is a senior at Bayport-Blue Point High School in Long Island, New York. He took his first flight from a grass field near his home and he was hooked. During the summer, he worked 40 hours a week to earn the money to fund his flight training, and the AOPA scholarship helped him complete his private pilot certificate. “I couldn’t believe it when I received the phone call,” he said. “In the application I presented my utmost passion and devotion to aviation. Ultimately I plan to enroll at a Part 141 institution—Farmington State College—and from there I look to obtain my instrument rating and other certificates. I plan to fly in the airlines or fly with a corporate or charter company.”

Dad’s her instructor

Lauryn Spinetta is a junior at Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas, whose father is a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Her dad is her CFI and, she says, he demands nothing less than her best when she is flying. “It is super fun to experience flying with my dad by my side. I have always looked up to him because of his love of aviation and for this amazing country,” she said. “The scholarship has allowed me to jumpstart my life as a pilot. Since receiving the scholarship, I have logged 11.2 hours and I am currently working on my landings.”

AOPA is now accepting applications for the 2017 High School Flight Training Scholarship Program, which will award 20 flight training scholarships of $5,000 each to eligible high school students.

“We are excited to assist students in achieving their dreams of flying,” said Cindy Hasselbring, AOPA senior director of the You Can Fly High School Aviation Initiative. “These students will not only gain understanding essential in becoming a pilot but also acquire many career-ready skills that will help them in whatever career they decide to pursue in the future.”

For winners like Treulich and Spinetta, the sky is limitless. “I am glad that an organization such as AOPA has generous donors who give back to the youth generation of aspiring aviators,” Treulich said. “I can’t wait to log more hours and explore more parts of the world from a slightly different view—up in the air!” Spinetta added.

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