Congratulations to JHS senior scholar Lt. Col Jiona Lee.
She is only 1 of 200 cadets worldwide selected to receive the AFJROTC Flight Academy Scholarship for a Private Pilot's Certification. This scholarship will cover the total cost of travel, room, board, tuition, books, flight hours, and other fees.
The Air Force JROTC Flight Academy is an approximately 8-week summer aviation training program, conducted at partnering universities nationwide. Upon successful completion of the program, students are awarded a Private Pilot’s Certification. The Flight Academy is intended to inspire and encourage high school youth toward aviation careers. The scholarship program is a collaborative effort between the aerospace industry and the Air Force to address a national pilot shortage. Currently, Boeing predicts an annual need to hire 6,000 civilian pilots a year for the next 20 years. The military needs to quickly push that number over 8,000.
The Flight Academy also addresses a secondary national issue of diversity. Aviation is one of the least diverse professions in industry. Currently, women make up less than 7% of pilots and minorities represent less than 12%. Air Force Junior ROTC currently has almost 100,000 cadets enrolled in high schools across the nation and is the Air Force’s most diverse program. Minorities represent 58% of the Air Force Junior ROTC student body and females make up 40%. Cadets selected for the flight academy represented females and minorities more than three times the national averages.