Avfuel Corp. has awarded the annual Avtrip Scholarship for continuing studies in aviation to three pilots.
The winners are selected by the quality and message of their essays, the extent of participation in or knowledge about the general and business aviation industries, and level of need.
Top winner James Orwin of Canton, Michigan, has been awarded $2,000 in scholarship money and $500 in US Savings Bonds.
“James Orwin’s passion for aviation and his commitment to improving the general and business aviation industry at large impressed everyone at Avfuel,” says Avfuel Director of Marketing Marci Ammerman. “It was clear from his essays that he is very knowledgeable about this industry, and that he intends to continue his career in aviation while working to make the industry stronger. He is and will be a very valuable contribution, and we feel the aviation community will be seeing a lot more of him in coming years.”
“From the beginning I enjoyed the precision, attention to detail, structure, sounds and sights that flying had to offer,” he says of his early flights.
Orwin received private pilot ground school lessons and an introductory flight at the age of 15. Since then, he has pursued aviation in both his career and his personal life. In 2000 he earned a degree from Western Michigan University’s Aviation Flight Science program. He went on to work as an intern with a local large corporation’s flight department, where he served as interning first officer to the company’s fleet ofKing Air 350s. Orwin was soon hired for a full-time position.
Orwin’s immediate aviation-education goal is to finish his graduate degree in order to qualify for a management position.
Although Avfuel usually awards one annual 
scholarship, this year was an exception. The quality of the submissions were so impressive that the company created two additional scholarship awards of $500 each in U.S. Savings Bonds. These were given to Sarah Saslow Brown of Boise, Idaho, and Mike Borders of Ypsilanti, Michigan. Brown is a Learjet captain, and Borders is a flight instructor and former FBO supervisor.
To apply for the next AVTRIP Scholarship, go to Avfuel.com/Avtrip
