It's Scholarship Time at Girls With Wings!

Yup, it's July and that means I have to find some people to give money to. I know, tough job, right? I always want to give the funds to folks that really deserve it. And thus far I think we've chosen some great winners. All of them are featured on the website.

For example, last year we chose Rose, an Air Force ROTC cadet at Florida State University. Besides posting updates to the GWW Message board, we posted her final essay on the website. It begins:

It has been a year full of leaps and bounds for me. I have discovered more about myself – my limitations and capabilities – than I ever have in such a short period of time. When I started this year, I thought (with the undeniable naivety of the young) that I could do everything, perhaps only sacrificing sleep to the wayside.


I’m sure you can already imagine the outcome of his essay with a beginning like that…


We have a very narrow margin of applicants we can accept which is why I SO want to get the word out. Potential recipients must have soloed, but not yet received their private pilot's license. We've developed the application considering some lessons learned over the last four years but we still retain the requirement for an essay with photo stating why the applicant believes she is a role model for Girl With Wings, to include her motivation, inspirations and future plans. Applicants then agree to possibly have portions of or their entire essays and pictures posted on the GWW website.

We also chose Janice, a student of aviation management at Mt San Antonio College/Southern Illinois University. Her final thoughts are in her essay, Girls With Wings: Truly Uplifting:

A boost of confidence and a lot of support is what I found to be the most important outcomes from this scholarship. I have come to realize that aside from the financial help, this year has been a huge year in my growth as an adult, a pilot and a professional. Prior to knowing about Girls With Wings, I was very timid in how I approached aviation. I was afraid to ask questions feeling that people would think I was dumb. I was extremely nervous when approaching certain challenges such as my first solo, solo cross-country, and long solo cross-country. Writing about my experiences on the Girls With Wings web site and getting feedback from other more experienced woman really helped me with my insecurities.

Ideally, I hope to start raising $4000 per year in order to have a scholarship award each quarter. But that's going to require more donations. We were SO close to $3000 on July 1st! Next year, I think we can do it. But first PLEASE spread the word about this year's scholarship application window. One of your friends just might know someone PERFECT for this scholarship!

Deadline for submission is Midnight EST, July 31st, 2011.