(L-R) Adam Goffinet, Mike, Ben Cole, Ashley Carder, Eli Hildreth. (Not Pictured - Garrett Hackett)

He is a Senior and has all of his licenses and ratings up through his CFI.

(Email from Eli):
To the members of aviation interviews,
As recipient of this years first place scholarship, i would like to thank you all sincerely for your generous contribution to my education. Even though I have been a hard working and dedicated student in the past, I have always had trouble obtaining scholarships. Because I don't have a 4.0, and my parents don't live in poverty, many people have overlooked me for a scholarship. Because of this scholarship, I will likely be able to take the charter course. It will allow me to get high altitude and high performace experience flying a cessna 340 and 421 into some of the nations bussiest airports. This experience will no doubt be invaluable to me securing a job flying twins or with a regional airline. I vow to one day give back to other students educations if I am able.

Thank you again for the scholarship.

Sincerely,
Eli Hildreth, CFI

(Email from Adam):
Mike,
Wow, I have no idea how to thank you for what you have done. Your investment in me has given me the chance to fly in the charter program at SIU. Without your generosity, this type of experience would not been avialable to students like me.
Your outstanding committment to the flight program at SIU is opening doors for individuals to further their education, a gift which is priceless.
Again, thank you for the $3,000 scholarship. Hopefully you have seen the impact you've had on the lives of all the scholarship recipients. After speaking with you and realizing all that we had in common in our college experiences, I hope to follow in your footsteps by contributing to the aviation community as you have done.

Thank you,
Adam Goffinet

(Email from Ashley):
Dear Mike,
I do not know how to even begin thanking you for what you have given me. I can not even get my biological father to support me and what I am trying to make out of myself. After reading a little about me, you have decided to invest in a complete stranger. Your investment is going to allow me to continue with my dream of being a pilot, independent and a better person. I can not begin to thank you enough. I hope you continue with contributions and continue to invest in our futures.

Thank you for being so gracious and so generous.
It really does make a difference.

Ashley

He is a Junior working on his Instrument Rating. He has his Private License.

(Email from Ben):
Dear Mike,
I would like to thank you for awarding me the $1,000 aviationinterviews.com scholarship. I truly appreciate everything you do to support the aviation industry, both through your website and by reaching out to individuals becoming involved in aviation through scholarships like the ones awarded.

The generosity of yourself and the many members of aviationinterviews.com that donated money to support these scholarships will not be forgotten. I hope that in the future I will be able to contribute to someone elses education, as so many have done for me through this scholarship.

The funds from this award will go towards earning my Instrument rating. I am currently taking Instrument ground school and was unsure if I would be able to afford actually taking the Instrument Flight course. Thanks to this scholarship, I will be able to afford this next course and will begin my training in about a week (as soon as I take the check ride for my current course).

Once again, thank you for everything. I look forward to being able to post my own interview experiences on your site in a few years.

Sincerely,
Benjamin A. Cole

He is a Junior on the flight team and will start his multi-engine course during the spring semester.

(Email from Garrett):
Dear Mike,
I'd like to thank you for selecting me for your scholarship. I greatly appreciate your generosity. I will be using the funds toward my multi-engine rating next semester.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

Thanks again.

Sincerely,
Garrett Hackett