I Hart Flying Offers Aviation Scholarships for Women

Rachelle is attempting to bring more women into aviation by raising money for scholarships through her I Hart Flying campaign. I Hart Flying

An aviator known as Rachelle is breaking new ground on fundraising techniques to raise money for a scholarship that aims to bring more women to the field of aviation. On January 21, the funds from Jeanne King’s class at Pilates of Pasadena, in Pasadena, California, will go toward Rachelle’s I Hart Flying campaign. The class starts at 1 p.m. and will be followed by a reception. The $50 donation toward I Hart Flying is tax deductible.

Rachelle started I Hart Flying in 2017 and offered a scholarship of $5,000 to a young woman who showed an interest in aviation. The scholarship also included a Bose A20 headset, a King Schools Private Pilot course, a Jet Aviva gift bag, and gift certificates to Aviation Life and Base Turn clothing. She received about 200 applications and the top candidates were asked to create a video that explained why they wanted to start a profession in aviation. The videos are posted on the ihartflying.org website.

Rachelle plans to offer a minimum of one scholarship per year and also attends career days at local schools to encourage young women into aviation careers. She uses a heart branded Cessna 400 to take these budding aviators for demo flights.

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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