By Chris Nugent

 

September was a busy month for the Scholarship Committee with schools back in session and the scholarship application deadline fast approaching at the end of October. We were fortunate enough to be able to hold eleven in-person information sessions at University of North Dakota (UND), Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC) and the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT).

As we all know the demand for pilots and other aviation professionals has increased significantly and it’s reflected in the enrollment at schools with aviation programs. The classes at all the schools we visited were approaching capacity which certainly reflects the interest in aviation career fields. While many of the students we speak to are focused on becoming professional pilots (read, airline pilots), I also had the opportunity to speak to the Aviation Maintenance Technology students at CGCC. It was encouraging to see their focus and passion in becoming A&Ps in both commercial and general aviation – we need them! If you ever have the chance to spend some time at the CGCC Gateway campus I would encourage you to do so, it is an impressive, nationally recognized aviation maintenance program.

apa scholarship program infor session with the UND instrument students

The APA Scholarship program is a real enabler for many of these students in achieving their aviation career goals. However, it’s one of a number of scholarship opportunities available to students and we always encourage them to apply for as many of them as possible. Organizations such as AOPA, EAA, Women in Aviation, and others offer some great scholarship opportunities. And I’m happy to report that many of the APA Scholarship recipients have been awarded scholarships from these organizations as well. Aviation education is expensive, and everything helps!

We’ll provide an update on applications as we close out the 2022 cycle in the next few weeks. And as always, thank you for your generous support of the APA Scholarship Program.

Stay healthy and fly safe.

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