From left, Tom Monti, Vice President of SCAPA, Scott Rudy, Clark

Three South County residents are flying high thanks to
scholarships aimed at furthering their aviation careers.
Gilroy – Three South County residents are flying high thanks to scholarships aimed at furthering their aviation careers.

The South County Airport Pilots Association handed out three $1,000 scholarships this summer to Gavilan College students Clark Grace and Scott Rudy and to Morgan Hill resident Ashley Porath. The association hoped the awards would encourage budding aviation workers to pursue their dreams, association president Mark Sochan said.

“We’re trying to help our young people who are interested in an career in aviation to fulfill their goals,” he said.

The association solicited applications for the scholarships in late May and was flooded with the response.

“It was a very difficult decision because we had so many high caliber candidates,” Sochan said.

In the end, they selected three winners “based on the motivation demonstrated by the application, their achievements and their need,” he said.

Rudy, a Hollister resident, and Grace, a San Juan Bautista resident, are students in Gavilan’s aviation maintenance program. The two winners plan to use their money to pay tuition, purchase tools and obtain licenses.

Porath, who works for Magnum Aviation in San Martin, will use the scholarship to pursue her private pilot’s license. The 20-year-old hopes to become an aerial firefighter.

“I’ve been working three jobs just to make a living,” she said. “It bought me a huge chunk of time to put toward aircraft rentals.”

An hour of flight instruction can cost upward of $200 in gasoline, instructor fees and aircraft rental. Porath managed to eke about 10 hours out of the money thanks to instructors volunteering time.

The 4th annual round of scholarships furthers the goals of the association, which advocates for the preservation of the South County Airport, said Sochan, a computer software consultant who flies for fun. By encouraging the next generation of area pilots, the association increases the lifetime of the airport.

“The South County Airport is an important resource for the community, not only for San Martin,” he said. “That’s why we spend our scholarships on people in South County. We’re trying to keep the benefits local.”

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