Earlier this month, I attended the annual Women in Aviation Conference. The 2020 Conference was held in Disney World. There is a magazine published for each day of the Conference.. I was asked by the Editor in Chief of Women in Aviation International (WAI) to write an article regarding scholarships. My objective was to give my story and persuade others to apply for scholarships or donate to a scholarship fund. The article I wrote for WAI is provided below:
Growing up, I knew I needed scholarships to afford college. I wasn’t born into wealth. I came from a pretty average family that struggled to make ends meet. There was one thing I knew for sure, I didn’t want to drown in student debt. My guidance counselor in high school suggested Air Force Reserve Officer Training (AFROTC) to pay for college. I ended up devoting my entire high school career to bettering myself physically and educationally to be competitive for a full ride AFROTC scholarship.
I eventually received the scholarship and started my professional flight degree at the University of Nebraska Omaha. At the end of my freshman year of college, I was crushed when I was medically disqualified from AFROTC and lost my scholarship. I had no other scholarships to fall back on.
The first semester of school was suddenly a giant financial burden. I took out my first student loan and began working three jobs. I can proudly say that because of the scholarships I applied for and eventually began to receive, I never needed another loan to finish my degree.
When I first started applying for scholarships, I received but a few. I learned, however, that scholarship applications can be perfected with time. A big reason many people don’t take the time to apply is because they don’t think they will be chosen as a recipient. This is only true if you never send in an application. There will always be a chance you can win a scholarship if you just apply. My biggest tip is to focus on the essay portion. This is the most prominent way to make your application to stand out. Tell the scholarship committee why you are different from everyone else. My second biggest tip is to make sure you double, even triple, check that all of the requirements are being met in the application. With practice, anyone can master the art of applying for scholarships.
Scholarships such as the ones offered through Women in Aviation International (WAI) are essential for pilots in flight training. The financial strain of flight training can prevent very qualified people from ever accomplishing their dream of becoming a pilot. It is because of generous individuals, organizations, and companies who started scholarship funds that helped me reach aspirations that I never even thought I could accomplish. I am forever grateful for WAI and the many other individuals and entities that helped me get to where I am today.
