The AAAE Foundation, which has raised more than $5 million dollars and issued over 3000 scholarships since its inception, celebrated a milestone recently at the 3rd Annual Women in Aviation Scholarship Luncheon. Since the establishment of the Women in Aviation Scholarship Program in late 2015, more than $1 million dollars has now been raised to provide scholarships to female undergraduate students with a junior class standing or higher, or graduate students, who are enrolled in an aviation program and have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Eligibility is unrelated to membership in AAAE. The following selection criteria are used: gender, academic records, financial need, participation in school and community activities, work experience and a personal statement.
This year’s honoree at the Annual Luncheon was Sharon Pinkerton, Airlines for America (A4A) Senior Vice President for Legislative and Regulatory Policy. Beginning in 2020, the AAAE Foundation’s Women in Aviation Scholarship Program will issue its first Sharon Pinkerton Women in Aviation Scholarship, which will be issued in perpetuity. The endowed scholarship in Pinkerton’s name will join five other permanently endowed Women in Aviation Scholarships:
The Women in Aviation Scholarship
The Linda H. Daschle Women in Aviation Scholarship
The Gina F. Adams Women in Aviation Scholarship
The Patricia Gilbert Women in Aviation Scholarship
The Claudia Holliway Women in Aviation Scholarship
The Claudia Holliway Women in Aviation Scholarship was converted today from an annual scholarship of limited duration into a permanently endowed scholarship through a generous contribution from the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE).
In recognizing the contributions of these women who have given so much to the aviation industry, AAAE President and CEO Todd Hauptli noted, “Ten years from now; twenty years from now; fifty years from now; and indeed, a century from now, young women interested in a career in aviation will apply to receive a Daschle or an Adams or a Gilbert or a Holliway or a Pinkerton Women in Aviation Scholarship and the contributions of these honorees and their legacy will live on in the women who proudly follow in their name.”
A full list of AAAE Foundation scholarships and eligibility requirements is available online. For further information about Women in Aviation Scholarships or for inquiries regarding corporate or individual contributions to the program, please visit aaae.org/foundation or contact Gwen Basaria, Vice President, Member Experience and AAAE Foundation, at (703) 797-2540.
