Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine – Aug/Sept 2016
WICHITA, KAN. – The Wichita Aero Club has awarded two Edward W. Stimpson Scholarships for 2016 and, for the second year in a row, has increased the amount of the award to $5,000 each. “We are very pleased to announce that Zavier Luciano, an Aviation Maintenance Technology student at Wichita Area Technical College, and Talon Michelle Wanless, an Electrical Engineering student at Wichita State University, have been chosen to receive scholarships from the Wichita Aero Club this year,” said John O’Leary, Vice President of Airbus Americas Engineering and Chairman of the WAC Education Committee. Zavier and Talon were selected from among 10 applicants who qualified for consideration. No applicants met the qualifications for the H. Dean Humphrey Scholarship this year, so the committee chose to award two Stimpson scholarships.
Both Wichita Aero Club Scholarships are designed to encourage and support students who have already demonstrated success in a major course of study at a post high school institution and have established a clear aviation-related career path.
Zavier Luciano enrolled in the Airframe and Powerplant program at Wichita Area Technical College in February of 2016. He has spent much of the past decade as a mechanic at Spirit AeroSystems, Boeing, BE Aerospace, Cessna and United Technologies working on interiors, electrical and structural components. He is pursuing an Associate Degree in Aviation Maintenance and an Airframe & Powerplant Certificate. Luciano is a sport pilot and hopes to continue flight training and obtain his private pilot certificate.
Talon Wanless is pursuing her goal of being a third generation aviation professional. Currently a junior in Electrical Engineering at Wichita State University, she is also serving as an avionics and electrical intern at Textron Aviation and following in the footsteps of both her father and grandfather. She participated in both the BEETS (Bridge for Engineering and Engineering Technology) and BEST Robotics programs, and was a member of the National Honors Society while in high school, and earned the distinction of being a Presidential Scholar at Wichita State in 2014.
For more information on the Wichita Aero Club, the Ed Stimpson and Dean Humphrey Scholarships or events, call 316-641-6766 or visit www.wichitaaeroclub.org.
