![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Kirk-Bennettedit.jpg\")
Kirk Bennett of Summerville, S.C., is a student at the\nGovernor\u2019s School of Science and Mathematics who plans to attend Embry Riddle\nAeronautical University. Kirk said, \u201cI have loved flying in airplanes since I\nwas three years old. When I had the chance to fly an airplane through the Young\nEagles program, I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.\u201d\nAmanda Aldea, Craft Flight Training Co-Owner, said, \u201cAt such a young age,\nKirk\u2019s drive and focus on the goal of getting his pilot license and pursuing an\nengineering degree shows that he is exactly the kind of pilot we want to\nencourage and help to achieve his goals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Juan-Pina-Gomezedit.jpg\")
Ladson, S.C.\u2019s, Juan Pina Gomez started flight training two\nyears ago. He obtained his Private Pilot license in 2019 and his Instrument\nFlight Rules (IFR) rating in February 2020 and is currently working toward a\nCommercial rating. A May 2017 graduate of Trident Technical College in North\nCharlteston, S.C., he plans to advance his education by acquiring a Bachelor\u2019s\ndegree in Aviation Technology, and he aspires to become a major airline pilot.\nBarry Emerson, Co-Owner\/Head Flight Instructor of CRAFT Flight Training & Simulations\nwhere Juan has been a student since April 2019 said, \u201cJuan\u2019s goals of becoming\na commercial airline pilot is an ambitious goal, and he has faced several\nchallenges throughout his training.\u201d Barry added, \u201cEven given that, he is a\nconsistent and dedicated student.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Joanna-Mezaedit.jpg\")
Joanna Meza is a student at Embry Aeronautical University,\nmajoring in Aeronautics with a minor in Aviation Maintenance Operations. The\nGreenville, S.C., resident began her aviation journey in the Aircraft\nMaintenance Program at Greenville Technical College. Joanna is employed full\ntime with Anderson Regional Airport in Anderson, S.C., as an A&P Mechanic.\nShe feels her A&P certificate and Associate Degree in Applied Science was a\nstepping stone. \u201cEach certification I have obtained has been a significant milestone\nof my career,\u201d Joanna said. Brett Garrison, Anderson Regional Airport Manager,\nsays, \u201cJoanna is a valuable member of our team, and we look forward to seeing\nher excel in her aviation career dream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Henry-Nguyen-Photoedit.jpg\")
Henry Nguyen of Greenville is a student in the Aerospace:\nProfessional Pilot program at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) with\ngoals for a career in aviation. Henry aims to earn his Private Pilot license,\nInstrument Rating certificate, Commercial Pilot certificate and multi-engine\nrating. He plans to become a flight instructor at MTSU and gain considerable\nexperience teaching new flight students. Henry expects to explore two career\npaths: commercial airline pilot or owning his own flight school. Greenville\nDowntown Airport (GMU) Director Joe Frasher said, \u201cHenry has been shadowing\nSonny Massey and the other air traffic controllers at GMU,\u201d in preparation for\na career in aviation, adding, \u201cHe is an excellent candidate to receive\nscholarship assistance from SCAA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/walker-weathers-4edit.jpg\")
A full-time employee of Greenville-Spartanburg Airport\nDistrict\/Cerulean Aviation FBO as a line service technician, Greenville\u2019s\nWalker Weathers is a student at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Walker\nsays, \u201cIn the next year, I plan to earn a CFI certificate and a Bachelor\u2019s\ndegree in Aeronautical Science. I would love to work for the flight school I\ntrain with so I can help future students, and my dream is to work for SpaceX\nwhile continuing flight instructing on the side.\u201d Greenville-Spartanburg\nInternational Airport Senior Vice President\/COO Kevin Howell said, \u201cWalker is\nvery intelligent, an aviation enthusiast, and is safety conscious. He provides\ngreat customer services and displays excellent judgment in his job\nperformance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SCAA actively promotes and encourages aviation and airport development to meet air transportation needs and assist the state in achieving economic development goals. Its membership is comprised of airports and aviators across South Carolina, as well as aviation industry partners. For more information, please visit scaaonline.com.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" South Carolina Aviation Association (SCAA) has awarded five scholarships to South Carolinians pursuing careers in the aviation industry. Each individual received a $1,000 award to aid them in their pursuits. Kirk Bennett of Summerville, S.C., is a student at the Governor\u2019s School of Science and Mathematics who plans to attend Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Kirk […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aviation-education","category-south-carolina"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16852"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16852\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16858,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16852\/revisions\/16858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}