Whirly-Girls International, a non-profit, educational, and charitable organization dedicated to advancing women in the helicopter aviation industry, has announced the recipients of the 2024 Whirly-Girls Scholarship Awards. The scholarships were awarded at the Whirly-Girls Annual Reception during HAI HELI-EXPO in Anaheim, California. Thanks to the support of aviation leaders, 39 scholarships were bestowed upon deserving female aviators, the largest scholarship program in the helicopter industry.
Recipients of the 2024 Whirly-Girls scholarships are:
- Bridget Colby - Airbus Inadvertent IIMC Training Scholarship
- Shalena Abbas- Anastasia Mosquito Control District Ag Spray Scholarship
- Anna Harpila- Bell Training Academy Maintenance Scholarship
- Lucy Passaniti- Stewart “Stu” Dietrick Memorial Scholarship
- Teagan Trant - Bristow Group Initial Helicopter Flight Training Scholarship
- Maggie Beseda- CAE SK-76 Initial Training for Helicopter ATP Scholarship
- Katrin Doederer - Erickson & Volo Mission Vertical Reference/External Load Scholarship
- Amory Harris - Flight Safety International Bell 206/Bell 407 Scholarship
- Kellye Evans, Maria Paradise, & Kelsey Hoogendoorn - Garmin GTN & Flight Display Pilot Training Course Scholarship
- Olivia Bassett & Yesenia Bello - Garmin Aviation Online Training Course Scholarship
- Sarah Jackson - Leading Edge Flight Academy & Central Oregon Community College Helicopter Instrument Rating Scholarship
- Charlotte Brown & Larissa O’Donoghue - Leonardo Helicopters AW139 Flight Training Course Scholarship
- Alicia Martinez & Kaela Robertson - Leonardo Helicopters AW139 Full Airframe Maintenance Course Scholarship
- Brandi Truesdel- Lora Trout Remembrance Initial or Commercial Training Scholarship
- Ryan Hester - MD Helicopters MD500 Flight Training Scholarship
- Yesenia Bello, Mariah Dugan, Larissa Hamilton, Andrea McGilvray, & Rebecca Torres- Oregon Aero CRM/AMRM Instructor Training Scholarship
- Hannah Santamaria - Palm Beach Helicopters CFI/CFII Rating Scholarship
- Amy Hartt & Kerry Hahne - PHI Aviation Bell 407 Scholarship
- Cecily Olsen & Kim Loraine-Grews - Robinson Helicopters R22/R44 Safety Course Scholarship
- Linnea Nelson & Leah French - Southern Utah University (SUU) Career Flight Training Scholarship
- Ruby Esquivel- Southern Utah University (SUU) Maintenance Scholarship
- Dallas Smith & Alexa Dunn - Survival Systems USA Aviation Survival & Egress Scholarship
- Olivia Anderson - Edward M Thurn Memorial Scholarship
- Lexi Hargis - Whirly-Girls Memorial Flight Training Scholarship
- Oceana Gamel Howes - Whirly-Girls Jean Tinsley Memorial Heli-Expo Scholarship
- Harley Lenart - Whirly-Girls Initial/Add-on Flight Training Scholarship
“The 2024 Scholarship offering has been a record-breaking year and incredibly inspiring. We are overwhelmed with the generosity and support from our Sponsors and the quality of deserving applicants and recipients. In addition to providing new opportunities to our pilots throughout their initial flight ratings, the incorporation of new Sponsors has provided more advanced training courses for working, commercial pilots and scholarships to aid maintainers as well. We feel honored to offer these opportunities to our membership, support women in the helicopter industry, and collaborate with so many wonderful Sponsors and individuals” said Fallon Blattner, Whirly-Girls International VP of Scholarships.
The 2024 Scholarship program has officially exceed $600,000 in annual scholarship awards with the addition of two (2) AW139 type rating/ATP scholarships provided by Coptersafety as a mid-year offering. Coptersafety, located in Finland, offers a full range of flight and mission training courses and is an EASA, FAA and UK Part-ORA certified training facility. These scholarships will be offered to Whirly-Girl members and subsequently awarded in the Summer of 2024.
The Whirly-Girls Scholarship Fund, Inc. ("WGSF") was incorporated to oversee and administer the scholarship funds raised by the Whirly-Girls and their Associates. Initiated in 1968, the scholarship program has grown from a single $500 scholarship to a wide range of training and development scholarships valued today in excess of $600,000. For more information on Whirly-Girls International, please visit www.whirlygirls.org
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