Girls With Wings offers two scholarship opportunities twice yearly. The Private Pilot Scholarship is to help defray the cost of flight training lessons in pursuit of a private pilot certificate. This scholarship is targeting those individuals who have soloed but have not completed the Private Pilot Course. The Girls With Wings Dreams Take Flight Scholarship is designed to introduce the world of aviation to someone who would benefit from experiencing the joy of flight. The award of this scholarship is intended to fund introductory flight training to encourage achievement of a stated goal, whether in aviation or in another field of study.
We are doing something simply unprecedented this year and we are super excited to finally be able to share the news with you. We are announcing NUMEROUS awards for our summer program instead of the usual two. Why? Because we are fortunate to receive donations and membership fees that people entrust to us because they believe and support the mission of Girls With Wings. There is no need or benefit to keep cash idling in the bank when the following individuals can take flight!
Therefore we are announcing several additional awards to individuals showing great promise and dedication. We are offering them $250 to help in funding at least a small portion of their flight training.
Here is Krysten's application essay:
I grew up listening to my fathers’ tales of treasured memories flying with his grandfather. He would always talk so fondly of his trips up the east coast in his grandpas’ plane. It was something he cherished when he was younger and wished he was able to give me those same memories. He would show me pictures and talk about how enjoyable flying was. Listening to these stories made me dream about flying. I always thought it was an unattainable dream until I realized how many opportunities I had living in the USA that others do not have. After returning from my trip to China I began devising a plan to begin flying. I knew that my present income and student loans would be one of my biggest obstacles. I found a second full time job and worked two jobs for the last year. I became very frugal and dedicated practically all of my income to paying off the loans. I was so excited when the big day came and I made my last payment to Sallie Mae. It was a fresh start in my eyes; I could finally start saving for my real dream of flying. From that day forward all of my income minus my living expenses goes towards flying.
I found pilots who were willing to give me advice on everything and anything relating to aviation. These mentors have been a huge help and have given me awesome guidance. I hope to be a positive mentor for someone just as they have been for me. I feel that the biggest mentor is the instructor that teaches you. I’ve been told by many people that I would be an amazing teacher but I’ve never found anything that I’m passionate about until now. I would love to wake up every day and be able to make an impact on a students’ life. I hope to share my passion for aviation with other women and teach more girls to fly. I joined organizations such as Girls With Wings, WIA, CAP, and AOPA to gain as much guidance as possible prior to beginning my voyage to become a flight instructor.
After researching different aviation schools and organizations, I found the perfect fit. I left my overnight job to start taking flight lessons and I have loved every minute of it. I love everything about flying, and literally talk to everyone I see about it. After I’m done my lessons I get home and call my grandfather and we talk about the “old days” when he would go flying with his dad and brothers. I have people lined up ready to take flights with me once I have my license; It’s really encouraging to have so much support from my family, friends, and mentors.
Even with all this support it is still difficult to fund my dream. Learning to fly is an expensive endeavor and even with putting almost all of my income towards lessons it is still challenging to make ends meet. I am currently working on my private pilot license and have just finished my stage one exam, and am almost ready to solo. Once I complete my Private pilot license, I hope to jump right into my instrument rating, commercial, and then become a certified flight instructor. I want to continue my training without interruptions and hope that the Dreams Take Flight Scholarship will help me on my journey to becoming a flight instructor. Thank you for your time and consideration. I truly appreciate this opportunity.
We wish you the best, Krysten! We look forward to hearing about your training.
See the details of the 2014 Scholarship program starting January 1st, 2014.
Please note that the scholarships are funded by donations - so we need contributions from people like YOU to keep our program running. We always have way more deserving applicants than funds. Visit our donation page to help.
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