A Howell High School student has been selected by the United States Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Corps (AFJROTC) to attend the 2022 AFJROTC Flight Academy program.
Jaidah Davis was competitively selected among 1,300 applicants and awarded a $24,000 scholarship to attend an 8-week summer aviation program at one of the corps’ partnering universities. If successful, Davis will earn her Private Pilot Certification (PPC) and take the first step toward a career in aviation.
According to an email from the organization, the AFJROTC provides “citizenship education to develop men and women of character at 870 high schools around the world and is considered one of the most diverse organizations in the Air Force.”
Their Flight Academy program is an Air Force Chief of Staff (CSAF) initiative intended to increase diversity within aviation, supplement pilot throughput, and invigorate high school student interest in the pursuit of aviation as a profession. Participation in the program does not incur a military obligation.
Officials say that while generating interest in aviation and increasing the number of certified pilots, the program is simultaneously bringing much-needed diversity to the profession.
“Aviation is one of the least diverse career fields in the nation,” states the email, “with approximately 12% minority and 7% female representation. In 2022, our Flight Academy program boasts a 62% selection rate of underrepresented groups for the 216 AFJROTC cadets who earned this coveted scholarship. Cadets like these are providing the foundation to meet current and future shortfall challenges.”
