Five Education Foundation Scholarships Awarded at 2012 Convention

2012 Convention – Five Scholarships Awarded

Submitted by Eleanor Mills

Larry Jenkins, director of the Short Wing Piper Education Foundation, recommended five students — four first timers and one returning student — for scholarships for the coming year. The five students approved were:

* Danyelle Fuhrman, Webster, Minn., a student at the University of North Dakota who will be entering her senior year there, is on track to be an air traffic controller. Larry noted that she is an exceptional student with a grade point average of 3.772. Danyelle has already begun her career, serving an internship at the Minneapolis Airport Traffic Control Tower.

* Michael W. “Duke” Davis, Knoxville, Tenn., a junior at the University of Tennessee, is pursuing a degree in logistics with aviation applications. He has a current GPA of 3.21. Michael’s essay sums up what many in the club and perhaps all the scholarship winners feel as he says, “Regardless of where I end up in my aviation career, I am confident that I will wake up every morning looking forward to going to work. After all, flying for a living sure does beat working for a living. As I leave the ground for every flight, I will most definitely feel those fond feelings creep up on me as if they have been waiting years to do so. The same familiar feelings I have always gotten and the same ones I will always get: pointing my nose up, climbing and climbing into the yonder skies. Freedom.”

* Tyler Keith Densford, Olive Branch, Miss., who will be a freshman at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss., will pursue a degree in flight operations with the goal of becoming an airline pilot. Tyler earned a high school GPA of 3.98. In his essay, Tyler says, “As a young boy, the moment that I stepped aboard a Southwest Airline Boeing 737 with a destination of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, I knew that flying was in my blood. In my school classrooms, I would constantly be scolded for drawing airplanes during the teacher’s lectures, and my young classmates would give me blank stares when reciting the phonetic alphabet.”

* Wesley Carter, Memphis, Tenn., will be a freshman at Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tenn., with the goal of becoming an air traffic controller. Wesley has already begun his study of that career, having served an internship in the Memphis Tower for the past two years. He was recommended for the scholarship by his tower chief and holds a high school GPA of 3.3265. Wesley has a true passion for his future career, saying in his essay, “Today I realize that I was led to the internship for a reason. Before getting to know air-traffic I overall had chosen to be a pilot, but once I had gotten experience I chose to be a controller. I decided to pursue this career because I simply fell in love with it. Although it may be stressful at times, I realized that having the job as an Air Traffic Controller is probably one of the most exciting jobs a person can have. In the end, I am glad I decided to go through the internship because I most likely would’ve missed my calling. For me, the career is simply my dream job and soon it will come true.”

* Timothy Stephen Cuff, Washougal, Wash., who will be a junior at Central Washington University at Big Bend Community College, Moses Lake, Wash., wants to be a commercial airline pilot. He’s a young man on a fast track, having graduated from high school with a running start on his college program, earning both his high school diploma and an associate degree with a GPA of 3.455. Brian McGlynn, president of the Columbia River Chapter which sponsored Tim, explained that Tim completed his junior and senior year of high school at Clark College in Vancouver, earning his diploma and degree. In his essay, Tim says he wants to be a professional pilot flying cargo around the country or around the world. “This career has been the ideal dream of mine for the past several years, and I hold it in regard above all others for several reasons: my undying passion for aviation, the allure of flying around the country, and the added excitement of hauling many different types of cargo,” he said. “All in all, I want a career as a cargo pilot because it is exciting. I get to do what I love, flying, experience travelling to new places, and confront the many challenges unique to that of a cargo pilot.”

Tyler, Wesley, Timothy, and Michael were awarded $2,000 scholarships, with Danyelle receiving a $2,500 scholarship.

As Larry noted, these are exceptional students who will make the SWPC proud!
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