The Aerospace States Association Chair, Wisconsin Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch recently announced that Laura Holland O’Brien a sophomore at Southwestern Illinois College has won ASA’s Rockwell Collins scholarship and Henry Sanabria a sophomore at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University has won the Edward A. O’Connor scholarship. Both scholarships were made possible through the generous donation of Rockwell Collins to ASA.
Ms. O’Brien has left her position as a flight attendant to enter college to become a commercial airline pilot and achieve an Applied Science Degree in Aviation Management. She sits on four boards; The greater St. Louis Flight Instructors, Women in Aviation, The greater St. Louis 99s, and the Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum.
Mr. Sanabria is in the Aerospace Engineering program at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. He is studying to be an aerospace engineer focusing on propulsion, and eventually hopes to get a Master’s degree in order to work for Pratt & Whitney. He has conducted research in engine design and in 2016 he was named the Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering overall scholar. At Embry Riddle he is the captain in their Launch Vehicle Design and Aircraft Design projects.
Each year ASA awards two $2,000 scholarships to college engineering sophomores courtesy of Rockwell Collins Inc. These scholarships are an integral part of the mission of the Aerospace States Association to help create an aerospace workforce for the future.
