By Chris Nugent
As you probably saw in last month’s newsletter, the APA team had a great time talking with our members at the recent AOPA Fly-In/Buckeye Air Fair and the Cactus Fly-In. I also had the pleasure of meeting with some of our recent scholarship recipients to get an update on their journey towards their aviation careers. I’m happy to report that they are working hard and making great progress. It’s always encouraging to see how the APA Scholarship program helps these students achieve their career goals. Thank you for your continued commitment and support for this important part of APA’s mission.
We’ll also continue to introduce you to our 2022 scholarship recipients in this month’s installment of the Scholarship Corner.
Aneka Raaman
Aneka is currently the Safety Officer for Aviation Explorers Post 352 at Falcon Field and is planning to attend the United Aviate Academy in June of this year.
My life passion is to become a career commercial aviation pilot and to be a role model for my generation of women in aviation. In the long term I would like to use my education and experience to explore business or technical leadership positions in the aviation industry.
I passed my PPL checkride in March 2022 and I am preparing for the IFR and CFII written exams. I am currently also a member of Women in Aviation International (WAI), Professional Asian Pilots Association (PAPA), and the Aviation Explorers Post 352 at Falcon Field.
Cintia Cantor Navas
Cintia is a US Marine Corps veteran and worked as an air traffic controller at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan and Beaufort, South Carolina. She works part time as a dispatcher at the UND flight school.
I would like to work in the airlines one day, transporting people on international routes. This spring semester I will begin training for my commercial license. Receiving this scholarship is really encouraging and will help me on the next step of my journey in the aviation industry.
I just want to thank the APA again because any little bit of help is greatly appreciated when it comes to completing my flight training.
Richard Browning
Richard is a second-year student in the aviation program at the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT).
The APA scholarship will help me achieve my goal of being a licensed pilot before I graduate. I wanted to become a pilot before I graduated so that I could take my aviation knowledge to the US Air Force. I am interested in flying or air traffic control in the military. Aviation has always fascinated me, and I’ve always been interested in a career in the military. The APA scholarship will help me become a part of something I’ve always loved and dreamed about.
More to come next month, and thank you again for your support in helping APA build the next generation of Arizona aviation professionals.