Stephanie Morris, a student in the Aviation Maintenance Technology program at Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC), was recently awarded two scholarships through the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance (AWAM). Morris received the `Pratt & Whitney Training Scholarship` that covers the cost of an engine maintenance course. Pratt & Whitney, an aerospace manufacturer based in Connecticut, is one of the top manufactures of aircraft engines.
She also received the `Taking it to the Sky with WAI` scholarship that covers the cost of attending the 26th annual Women in Aviation conference in Dallas, Texas. The conference is sponsored by Women in Aviation International (WAI).
`I have loved aviation for as long as I can remember, my Daddy used to always take me out to the airports and I would watch the airplanes take off, land, and fly around. It was just always a lot of fun for me,” said Morris, a resident of Rome. “Also, I am really mechanical minded and I love to figure out how things work so it was the perfect pairing for my career choice.”
Morris applied for the scholarships through the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance, an international organization that is open to both women and men. Membership consists of maintenance technicians, engineers, teachers, scientists, vendors, and pilots. AWAM’s goal is to help women in aviation maintenance related fields find ways to network and support each other.
`Throughout the course of aviation history you can see women have always played significant roles in aviation maintenance,” said Morris. “Especially during WW II when a lot of the guys had to go to war and the women had to take over doing certain things.”
According to Morris, Jon Byrd, director of the Aviation Maintenance Technology program at GNTC, was very supportive in helping students know what sort of scholarships were available.
`Mr. Byrd is great. He gave all the scholarship information to students and he told us that there were all sorts of different opportunities out there,” said Morris. “After applying for those scholarships I actually did some research on my own and found some other scholarships that were available to aviation maintenance students.”
Georgia Northwestern Technical College serves Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties in Georgia with campuses located in Floyd, Gordon, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties. Approximately 16,000 people benefit from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs, making it the largest college in Northwest Georgia and the fifth largest technical college in Georgia.