{"id":24901,"date":"2023-02-16T15:58:01","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T15:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=24901"},"modified":"2023-02-26T15:58:28","modified_gmt":"2023-02-26T15:58:28","slug":"siu-aviation-receives-boeing-donation-for-student-scholarships-other-resources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/illinois\/siu-aviation-receives-boeing-donation-for-student-scholarships-other-resources\/%20","title":{"rendered":"SIU Aviation Receives Boeing Donation for Student Scholarships, Other Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Southern Illinois University Carbondale\u2019s nationally\nrecognized aviation program recently received a donation from The Boeing\nCompany to further enhance offerings to its students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boeing\u2019s latest gift of $50,000 will be used toward\nscholarships and enabling students in aviation-related student registered\norganizations to attend conferences where they gain additional knowledge and\nnetwork. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPartnerships with outstanding aviation organizations, like The Boeing Company<\/a>, play a pivotal role in assisting the School of Aviation<\/a> in acquiring the funding and equipment resources necessary to educate and develop the finest aviation industry workforce in the world,\u201d said Jos\u00e9 R. Ruiz, professor and interim director. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruiz said the funds will be used to subsidize aviation education costs. Each of the three programs within the School of Aviation \u2014 aviation flight, aviation management and aviation technologies \u2014 will receive $10,000 in student scholarship funds. The remaining $20,000 is earmarked to support aviation-related RSOs<\/a> and aviation outreach programs, such as Girls in Aviation, which introduces girls ages 6-13 from local communities to aviation, engage in aviation activities and explore the vast career possibilities. A portion of the funds will also be used to host a diversity luncheon in April with speakers focusing on diversity within the industry.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strong SIU supporter <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2016, Boeing and its employees, through the assistance\nof the Boeing gift match program, have provided more than $344,000 to the\nSouthern Illinois University Foundation. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoeing remains committed to ensuring that students of all\nbackgrounds have access to globally competitive learning and are equipped with\nskills for the modern workplace,\u201d said Randell Gelzer, Boeing senior director\nof state and local government operations. \u201cOur partnership with the SIU School\nof Aviation will provide safe and inclusive learning environments and\nprofessional development opportunities for students from underrepresented\ncommunities, women and military veterans. This program is a key contributor to\neconomic growth and talent development for our local aerospace industry.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Student organizations will benefit greatly <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leslie Duran, a senior in aviation flight, is president of\nSIU\u2019s chapter of the Women in Aviation (WIA), and Valarie Meyer, a senior who\nis in her second year in aviation flight and management, is the SIU chapter\npresident of the National Gay Pilots Association (NGPA). Both emphasize\nBoeing\u2019s gift is critical to the activities their organizations sponsor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meyer said the gift allowed chapter members to attend the\nNGPA Industry Expo in Palm Springs, California, earlier this month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis conference is one of the biggest gatherings of\naviation companies, airlines and aviation enthusiasts. This event will allow\nour students to network and create lasting career connections,\u201d said Meyer, of\nSalem, Wisconsin, who will graduate in spring 2024. \u201cAttending this conference\nallowed many of our past members to secure jobs, create lasting friendships and\nsolidify their place in aviation. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to\nconnect even further with the aviation community.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Women in Aviation chapter will have six of its 40\nmembers attend the WIA conference, Feb. 22-25, in Long Beach, California, including\nfive members whose trips will be fully funded. Including this year, a total of\n12 members will have attended the last two years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fell in love with SIU\u2019s opportunities <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In high school, Meyer was part of a program that allowed her\nto build and then fly an experimental aircraft. The program introduced her to\nmentors who guided her toward an aviation career and SIU, said Meyer, who wants\nto become a professional pilot for a Chicago-based corporate flight department.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Duran, a first-generation transfer student from Elgin,\nIllinois, had \u201czero aviation history or knowledge\u201d after attending community\ncollege and considered pursuing a career as a flight attendant. Duran is in her\nsecond year at SIU and said participating in the RSO is one way to encourage other\nwomen. She wants to work for an airline after she graduates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had never considered becoming a pilot because it was not\ncatered to women,\u201d she said. \u201cThe more I researched, the more I got excited and\nfell in love with the possibility. SIU became the answer to achieving this\ndream when I realized I could earn a bachelor’s and fly! SIU became home when\nit recognized me not only as a first-generation Latina woman but as a pilot.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Southern Illinois University Carbondale\u2019s nationally recognized aviation program recently received a donation from The Boeing Company to further enhance offerings to its students. Boeing\u2019s latest gift of $50,000 will be used toward scholarships and enabling students in aviation-related student registered organizations to attend conferences where they gain additional knowledge and network. \u201cPartnerships with outstanding aviation […]<\/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":[98,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aviation-education","category-illinois"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24901","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=24901"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24903,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24901\/revisions\/24903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}