LOS ANGELES — Clay Lacy Aviation has awarded scholarships totaling $10,200 to 22 students in the Aircraft Mechanic Program at Van Nuys Airport operated by the L.A. Unified School District’s North Valley Occupational Center.
The FAA-approved curriculum prepares students for the licensing examination in General Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics.
This is the second-year Clay Lacy scholarships have helped students from the local community pay for tuition, books, tools and FAA exams as they work toward careers in aircraft maintenance.
The annual scholarship program is already seeing excellent results, according to company officials. They note that 13 of 24 recipients of the 2015 scholarships are now working in the aviation industry, including jobs at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Scaled Composites, Delta Airlines and Fed Ex, as well as Los Angeles-area business jet
“Helping to develop the next generation of aviation professionals has been a foundational mission at Clay Lacy,” said Brian Kirkdoffer, CEO of Clay Lacy Aviation. “Our industry needs more highly trained aircraft mechanics and these scholarships are just one of the ways we give back to our industry and to the communities we serve. We also offer a Professional Pilot Scholarship through the University of North Dakota Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, and on May 19 we will again host more than a thousand local high school students for Aviation Career Day at Van Nuys Airport.”
The application process for 2017 Clay Lacy aircraft mechanic scholarships begins Sept. 1. Recipients will be announced in November.
Founded in 1968 by aviator and industry pioneer Clay Lacy, Clay Lacy Aviation is a leading operator of private jets, offering aircraft management, charter, sales, acquisitions, maintenance, avionics, interiors and FBO services. The company has aircraft operations and regional offices across the U.S., including FBOs at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles and Seattle’s Boeing Field, and FAA repair stations in Van Nuys, Seattle, and Carlsbad, California.
