AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2021 - 40

PILOT BRIEFING
YOU CAN FLY |
Scholarship excitement
High school students are among 123 recipients
BY JULIE SUMMERS WALKER
THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY of the James C. Ray
Foundation, 124 AOPA members including high school
students, ages 15 to 18; primary flight training participants;
high school teachers; and AOPA members pursuing
advanced ratings will each receive flight training scholarships
in 2021. There were 4,014 applicants.
The scholarship awards are in four categories: AOPA
High School Flight Training Scholarship, AOPA Teacher
Flight Training Scholarship, AOPA Primary Flight Training
Scholarship, and AOPA Advanced Rating Scholarship.
Applicants submit an essay responding to various questions
about their flight training goals. Association and industry
experts review the applications and award the scholarships
based on goals, experience, initiative, and feasibility.
High school scholarship recipients can use the money
for direct flight training expenses to pursue a primary pilot
certificate, such as a private, sport, or recreational pilot certificate.
They must also complete a flight training milestone,
achieving either solo or earning a primary pilot certificate,
within one year of receiving a scholarship.
Seventeen-year-old Sydney Whisler of Tahoe City,
California, received a $10,000 You Can Fly High School
Flight Training Scholarship. In her essay, Whisler described
her passion for flying gliders in Sparks, Nevada. She hopes
to pursue a private certificate with glider ratings before she
attends college.
" Ideally, my long-term goal is to fly for a commercial
airline, ideally cargo. I have an interest in flying with various
airlines, but the UPS route is one that intrigues me the
most, " she wrote. " One thing I have learned in developing
SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Females up from 27% in
2020 to 44% in 2021.
People of color up from 13% in
2020 to 21% in 2021.
a flight plan, sometimes it may go in many different directions
to get to your final destination. "
Yorhara Costa, a 26-year-old from Brazil whose family
came to the United States when she was 2 years old, received
a $6,000 AOPA Primary Flight Training Scholarship. She is
working on her private pilot certificate while pursuing her
college degree. She now lives in Morristown, New Jersey.
" My long-term aviation goal is to have a successful career
in the airline industry. As a female pilot from another country,
I know this will present some challenges along the way, " she
wrote. " I have longed to become a pilot since my first encounter
with an aircraft captain. The inspiration I needed to believe
that I can be successful and make that dream a reality came
from that encounter. One day, I hope to look back on my journey
and be proud of where I've landed. "
Andrew Tejada is an innovative 16-year-old from
Orlando, Florida, who receives a $10,000 You Can Fly High
Yorhara Costa
Andrew Tejada
40 | AOPA PILOT July 2021
Sydney Whisler
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2021

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