Submitted by Mickey Baity
April 12, 2017 10:00 a.m.
In a ceremony at their April 1st meeting, the Friends of Fernandina Aviation (FOFA) awarded eight students from Fernandina Beach and Yulee middle schools fully-funded scholarships to attend a week-long encampment at the National Flight Academy-NFA (www.nationalflightacademy.com) this summer in Pensacola. The NFA is a subsidiary of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation and provides a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)-oriented program housed in a unique, 100,000-plus square feet, simulated aircraft carrier. During their encampment the students will be challenged to demonstrate a broad range of STEM, team building, and leadership skills.
The NFA scholarship program for 8th grade students is one of many activities founded by the Friends of Fernandina Aviation (www.fofaviation.com) and is funded this year in partnership with the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, the Amelia Island Rotary Sunshine, and the Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport. During the awards presentation, FOFA President, Mickey Baity, challenged the students to use this opportunity to explore possibilities for their future academic studies as they enter high school and even to develop an interest in a future profession. He also asked them to pass on their NFA experiences to their schoolmates who will be in 8th grade next year and would like to apply for these scholarships.
Baity explained to the students and their parents attending the awards event that this program was started only a year ago through a grant from the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance that sent two FBMS students to NFA last summer. “The feedback from our first two students was so positive we decided to search for additional partners to expand the program and fund more students this year; we were fortunate to have the Rotary and the Airport step up, as well as continuing support from the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.” He added, “We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have a long-standing relationship with the Concours and their initial partnership was key for getting this great opportunity for local students off the ground.” Baity also recognized Mayor Robin Lentz for her start-up assistance, getting students interested in this program, and helping with the selection process.
Scholarship winners for 2017 from FBMS are Emily Joinville, Hadeia Liburd, Gabriel Moyes, John Paul Nedelcu, Nathan Sabbattini, and Erica Teare. From Yulee Middle School, the winners are Jaylen Lipscomb and Joel Obaoye.
Nassau County 8th grade science and math teachers interested in having their students apply for these scholarships in 2018 should contact FOFA Education & Scholarship Programs Coordinator, Jim McCannell ([email protected]) for details.