WAI Scholarship Program Reaches Milestone

Since 1995, Women in Aviation International (WAI) has been handing out scholarships to women in an effort to encourage them to enter into or advance their careers in aviation fields. WAI's founder Dr. Peggy Chabrian announced at the organization's AirVenture breakfast this week that the scholarship program is about to reach a milestone, elevating the accumulative value to $10 million.

The scholarships are handed out at the organization's annual conference. In 1995, five years after the first Women in Aviation Conference, the organization handed out $500 in scholarships. This year, the total value for the 98 scholarships to be handed out at the 2016 WAI Conference, set to take place in Memphis March 10-12, add up to more than $488,000.

The application deadline is November 16 for these scholarships, which offer their recipients funding to be used for anything from STEM education, to engineering, to training for flight attendants, maintenance technicians, dispatchers or pilots.

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Pia Bergqvist joined FLYING in December 2010. A passionate aviator, Pia started flying in 1999 and quickly obtained her single- and multi-engine commercial, instrument and instructor ratings. After a decade of working in general aviation, Pia has accumulated almost 3,000 hours of flight time in nearly 40 different types of aircraft.

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