August 21, 2013
To promote education and training opportunities for schedulers and dispatchers, the NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers (S&D) Committee, in conjunction with many industry donors, annually awards both monetary and training scholarships worth more than $40,000.
Past recipients of the scholarships endorse them as an excellent way to develop new skills.Take, for example, the story of Susan Moss, an aviation administration manager at Textron, Inc. and two-time recipient of NBAA’s Schedulers & Dispatchers Scholarships.
Through the scholarship program, Moss received a training opportunity with NBAA Air Traffic Services in 2007, and in 2012, she used a cash award worth $3,900 to attend a week-long business aviation leadership class at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
“Scholarships like these help you broaden your horizons, and to all you can to enhance yourself, both professionally and personally, whether you are a brand-new scheduler or a seasoned veteran,” Moss said.
The application process for NBAA’s S&D Scholarships is quick and easy, and recipients will find out by Nov. 29, if they’ve been selected. Applications are due Sept. 27.
Applicants can be awarded one of a number of diverse training awards, ranging from dispatcher certificate training programs to licensing exam preparation courses. Monetary awards can be used to attend next year’s NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference (SDC2014) or other conferences, or to attend courses as part of a college degree or certificate program. Awards can even facilitate obtaining a Certified Aviation Manager (CAM) designation[comma needed] or attending NBAA Professional Development Program (PDP) courses.
For example, Rebecca Hughes was just beginning her aviation career as a first-time scheduler with C&S Aviation Services in New Hampshire when she was chosen to receive a $2,000 monetary award in 2013, which she used to attend the SDC2013 in San Antonio, TX.
“The process to apply was very easy, especially for what you can get out of it,” said Hughes.
At SDC2013, Hughes was able to network with FBO representatives, make new aviation contacts and meet people at companies that she worked with every day. She returned home after the conference knowing for certain that working in aviation was what she wanted to do for her career.
A training scholarship from Airline Ground Schools allowed scheduler Kailey Dwyer to pursue her dispatcher’s license, which has helped her at her job for the flight department at ConAgra Foods, Inc. Her goal now is to continue to move toward a greater management role, and she’s eyeing the CAM program.
“What do you have to lose?” said Dwyer to any schedulers and dispatchers considering the S&D scholarship program: “It would be silly not to apply.”
Scholarship recipients will be announced at SDC2014, being held from Jan. 14 to 17 in New Orleans, LA. Applicants are limited to receiving one award per person every other year.
Industry donors for the S&D Monetary Scholarships include:
- AC-U-KWIK
- Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
- Jet Aviation
- McKinley Air, Inc.
- Rockwell Collins Flight Information Solutions
- Signature Flight Support
- Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc.
Industry donors for the S&D Training Scholarships include:
- Airline Dispatchers Federation
- Beyond and Above Corporate Flight Attendant Training
- CAE
- CornerStone Strategies LLC
- Corporate Flight Attendant Training by Susan C. Friedenberg
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
- Fireside Partners
- FlightSafety International
- Frontier/Medex
- GA Food Safety Professionals
- Jeppesen
- MedAire, Inc.
- NBAA Air Traffic Services
- TransCon Aviation
- Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc.
Full details and award descriptions are available at www.nbaa.org/professional-development/scholarships/. Questions about the program or the application process can be directed to NBAA at (202) 783-9250 or info@nbaa.org.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.