Should You Apply for the NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers Scholarship?

Aircraft Charter Manager Urges Others to ‘Go for It!’

Aug. 12, 2013

After Tess Rushton-Herrera applied for the NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Scholarship in 2012, she was awarded $5,000 so that she could attend the Aircraft Dispatcher Training Course at the Sheffield School of Aeronautics in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and become a licensed aircraft dispatcher. The training helped Rushton-Herrera, a charter manager who oversees the scheduling function at Air Services, Inc., to learn what she didn’t already know and to connect the dots in her aviation career.

Rushton-Herrera’s advice for those who are considering applying for a scholarship? “Go for it! It’s easy!” In fact, she was amazed at how easy the application process was for her.

More challenging than the application process was finding a way to fit the training into her busy work and family schedule, but with the encouragement of others, she made it work. A mother of three sons ages 12, 10 and 7, she relied on the support of her husband and her coworkers in order to be away from home in Florida for the duration of the training course. She also had to use up her vacation time, including an extra week of paid vacation provided by her employer.

But the results were worth it. When asked what changed in the year since she became a licensed aircraft dispatcher, Rushton-Herrera said that she has earned a “whole new respect from the owner of the company,” as well as from the pilots with whom she works on a daily basis.

As far as what the future holds for her, she strives to continue her professional development to become even more marketable. She wants to be prepared for any opportunities for increased responsibility as she heads up her company’s dispatching function.

She remains grateful to the scholarship donors who made her scholarship possible, enabling her to receive the dispatcher training that resulted in her gaining more knowledge and confidence on the job.

Application Checklist

Anyone working in aviation or looking to begin a career in aviation is eligible to apply for NBAA’s Schedulers & Dispatchers Scholarships, which are online at:

Schedulers & Dispatchers Monetary Scholarship

Here’s a quick and easy application checklist to get started:

1. Complete the monetary or training scholarship application.
2. Write a 500-word essay.
3. Include a copy of a current resume.
4. Include two letters of recommendation.
5. Submit the completed application package (including all of the above) by the deadline on the application.

About the Scholarships

The NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Committee is dedicated to promoting education and training as a means for business aviation schedulers and dispatchers to enhance their careers. In conjunction with many generous donors, the committee offers a wide range of monetary and training awards each year, giving away awards of up to $10,000 per applicant.

The NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Committee is grateful for the ongoing support of all of its scholarship donors: Signature Flight Support, Universal Weather and Aviation Inc., AC-U-KWIK, Jet Aviation, Savoya, Rockwell Collins Flight Information Solutions, Airline Ground Schools, Beyond and Above Corporate Flight Attendant Training, CornerStone Strategies LLC, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Fireside Partners, FlightSafety International, Frontier/Medex, Jeppesen, MedAire, Inc., and NBAA Air Traffic Services (formerly the NBAA GA Desk).

Direct scholarship questions to NBAA at (202) 783-9250 or info@nbaa.org.