August 10, 2007

Chicago-area students win aviation scholarships

by Pete Rosenbery

(Editors: Please note hometown names.)

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Three Chicago-area students in Southern Illinois University Carbondale's nationally recognized aviation program are recipients of Chicago Area Business Aviation Association Scholarships.

Each scholarship is for $2,500, with eight total scholarships being awarded. SIUC students received seven scholarships in the two years the organization awarded grants to aviation students.

Here are the SIUC scholarship recipients by hometown:

Northbrook: John William Henry Koeppen IV, a senior in aviation management. He is the son of John and Beth Koeppen.

Riverwoods: Jonathan A. Joseph, senior in aviation management. He is the son of Ashur and Diane Joseph.

Roselle: Trenace J. Sones, a senior in aviation flight. She is the daughter of Patty and Robert Burns and Jimmy and Nancy Sones, Banning, Calif. Sones will complete an internship with the National Transportation Safety Board at the Du Page County Airport in West Chicago in the upcoming semester, which begins Aug. 20.

Joseph is a two-time scholarship recipient. The students will receive the scholarships at the organization's ninth annual golf outing, Thursday, Aug. 23, at Ruffled Feathers Golf Club in Lemont.

The scholarships "are a wonderful thing for the students and is a sign of their personal accomplishments in aviation," said David A. NewMyer, chair of SIUC's Department of Aviation Management and Flight. "They are all great students. This is also an indication of the excellence of the aviation programs at SIUC."

The aviation management and flight program is part of the College of Applied Sciences and Arts.

Formed in 1998, the not-for-profit Chicago Area Business Aviation Association offers a way for businesses that utilize business aviation and its vendors to share concerns and ideas. The scholarships are based on academic achievement and an essay in which applicants describe their passion in aviation, with a hope that students learn about business aviation in the private sector, said Kurt Keumpel, scholarship chair for the association.