May 14, 2012
NBAA’s scholarship program will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the Association’s 65th Annual Meeting Convention, scheduled for October 30 to November 1, 2012, in Orlando. It was during the 1992 Convention that NBAA handed out four $500 scholarships, according to Jay Evans, NBAA director of operations. “All the scholarships went to University of Aviation Association (UAA) college students,” Evans recalled.
Since then, NBAA’s scholarship program, which is generously supported through Member contributions, has handed out several million dollars in monetary and training scholarships to college students seeking careers in business aviation and to working industry professionals interested in advancing their careers. Today, the Association awards about $100,000 annually in cash scholarships alone, which are offered as tuition reimbursement for enrolled students.
NBAA also offers close to $300,000 a year in training awards for working professionals in business aviation, including pilots, maintenance professionals, schedulers, dispatchers, flight attendants and flight technicians. Training scholarships often come in the form of a donated training event sponsored by various companies, including FBOs and OEMs. NBAA’s various committees, including the Schedulers & Dispatchers Committee and International Operators Committee, administer and award these scholarships, said Evans, who oversees the overall program.
Over the years, NBAA and several of its Members also have established scholarships to honor notable individuals in business aviation. For example, NBAA and Conklin & de Decker established the Alan H. Conklin Business Aviation Management Scholarship to benefit undergraduates pursuing careers in business aviation management at NBAA- and UAA-affiliated institutions. The scholarship was created to honor the memory of Al Conklin, co-founder of Conklin & de Decker and a business aviation leader for more than 60 years.
The Lawrence Ginocchio Aviation Scholarship was created in 2001 by NBAA and the family and friends of the late Lawrence Ginocchio in order to honor his outstanding personal contribution to the business aviation community. The scholarship benefits undergraduate students officially enrolled at NBAA/UAA-member institutions.
It’s all part of a commitment by NBAA and its Members to get more young people to enter business aviation and to help professionals already working in the industry grow and advance in their careers.
“It’s a very big program right now, and a lot of people have benefited from it,” Evans said. “We’ve had many, many scholarship winners who’ve gone on to have outstanding careers in business aviation.”
While eligibility qualifications vary depending on the scholarship, all require that applicants supply at least one letter of recommendation and write an essay or provide a statement explaining why he or she is seeking a scholarship. Applicants also must sign the application. “Those are the three minimum things we need for any scholarship,” Evans said.
Given the ever-changing needs of the industry, NBAA welcomes new sponsors of scholarships. All the money donated in support of scholarships is tax-deductible. NBAA also is interested in setting up an educational endowment.
For further information regarding NBAA’s scholarship program, contact Jay Evans at (202) 783-9353 or jevans@nbaa.org.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.