5 Lincoln-Way Students Receive Flight Academy Scholarships

NEW LENOX, IL — Amanda Lask, a senior at Lincoln-Way Central, David J. Nelson and Connor Lindaur, a senior and junior at Lincoln-Way East, and Logan Clarida and Adam Pearse, juniors at Lincoln-Way West, have received a scholarship to attend an accredited aviation university participating in a private pilot license training program this summer, the district said in a release.

These cadets are five of 230 Air Force Junior ROTC cadets around the world to receive the scholarship from Headquarters Air Force Junior ROTC, Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, according to a release from the district. More than 1,340 cadets applied for one of the 230 scholarships.

There are more than 120,000 high school students enrolled in Air Force Junior ROTC at
almost 875 high schools in the United States and overseas. The district said the scholarship covers transportation, room and board, academics, and flight hours required to potentially earn
a private pilot license. The scholarship is valued at approximately $22,500.

The Flight Academy Scholarship Program is an Air Force-level initiative in collaboration
with the commercial aviation industry to address the national civilian and military pilot shortage, the district said in a release. Those who participate in the program do not incur a military commitment to the Air Force or other branch of service, nor does completing the program guarantee acceptance into one of the military’s commissioning programs.