Aviation student awarded international helicopter scholarship

Published 09.22.2023

Photo by Brian Samuel, an IBM mechanic

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A Pennsylvania College of Technology student was among only seven selected worldwide to receive a Bill Sanderson Aviation Maintenance Technology Scholarship from Helicopter Association International's Technical Working Group.

Alicia Martinez, of Allentown, a senior in the college's four-year aviation maintenance technology major, was awarded a first-place scholarship that provides a tuition waiver for a helicopter manufacturer training school and a stipend to offset expenses. Martinez will attend the Airbus EC145 helicopter factory school in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Scholarship recipient Alicia Martinez sits in the left seat of a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter – with IBM pilot Dan FitzPatrick – during her internship at IBM.
Scholarship recipient Alicia Martinez sits in the left seat of a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter – with IBM pilot Dan FitzPatrick – during her internship at IBM.

Martinez also received two passes to attend the 2024 HAI Heli-Expo in Anaheim, California. The event is the world’s largest vertical aviation conference and trade show, attracting more than 13,000 attendees from 72 countries and nearly 600 exhibitors this year.

She joins the roster of Penn College students consistently honored by HAI over the past 19 years; the total amount of association scholarships awarded to those students exceeds $200,000.

Penn College offers a bachelor’s degree in aviation maintenance technology, an associate degree in aviation technology (which Martinez attained in May) and an aviation maintenance technician certificate. For more information, visit the college's aviation page or call the School of Engineering Technologies at 570-327-4520.

For more about the college, a national leader in applied technology education, email the Admissions Office or call or call toll-free 800-367-9222.