Aviation Organization Seeking Scholarship Applications

Women in Corporate Aviation (WCA) is preparing to celebrate its 25th year and wants members to know that $10,000 worth of scholarships are available. (Applications are due by January 8.) The association is also ramping up fundraising to help it expand and serve new members all over the world.

WCA will award scholarships from Air Training International for a flight-procedures course; Charlie Bravo Aviation, aircraft acquisitions course; Dassault Falcon Jet, safety and/or management course; and a USC Viterbi Aviation Safety and Security program. Winners will be notified on February 15, and the awards will be announced at a ceremony at the International Women in Aviation Conference in Reno, Nevada, on March 23.

“We encourage any member—whether a pilot, maintenance technician, flight attendant, or aspiring aviation leader—to apply for a scholarship,” said WCA president Cindy Youngblood. “There is a wide variety of training opportunities available for nearly any role within the business aviation industry.”

To help expand its fundraising efforts, WCA is tapping alternative resources, including GoFundMe and Amazon Smile. Traditional donation sources are dwindling due to flight department closures and “general downturns in the industry,” according to WCA executive director Elizabeth Clark. “It’s become necessary to work harder to fund our events, and, especially with this organization’s international growth, these new, creative funding resources are becoming ever more vital to us.”

The association depends on volunteers to help support its worldwide activities. “They’ve kept us going, because there’s a definite need for the aviation world to see and benefit from the contributions of women in corporate and business aviation,” Clark explained. “As we prepare for our 25th year, we’re excited to increase our brand awareness and grow our membership throughout the world.

“We bring not only visibility to many women who work behind the scenes but also a sense of camaraderie not found elsewhere. We are in a unique segment of the aviation world and though we, ourselves, are relatively few in number, we must support and encourage the increasing number of women interested in these careers. Opportunity is present, preparation is present, desire is present, and we need to keep the momentum going to further this very worthy cause.”