August 21, 2018
For Immediate Release
CONTACT:
Office of Communications
301-952-6001
communications@pgcps.org
UPPER MARLBORO, MD – Nnamdi Olebara, a Charles Herbert Flowers High School senior, had a high-flying summer: He earned his private pilot license through a new Air Force initiative.
Olebara, an Air Force Junior ROTC (AFJROTC) cadet, was one of 120 cadets worldwide to participate in the Flight Academy Scholarship Program at Liberty University. The program is designed to address the national pilot shortage in both the military and civilian ranks, encourage high school students to pursue careers in aviation and increase diversity. Graduates of the program do not incur a military commitment.
More than 750 cadets applied to the program. Scholarships are valued at approximately $20,000.
“Becoming a private pilot was the hardest thing I’ve done in my life so far,” said Olebara, “but that didn’t stop me. I had a mission. I knew if I got through this, I could get through anything in life.”
The Flight Academy Scholarship Program is expected to grow to more than double by next summer and enroll 500 cadets by 2020. Plans are underway to open the program to Army, Navy, and Marine Junior ROTC programs as well as Civil Air Patrol cadets.
The mission of AFJROTC is to develop citizens of character dedicated to serving their nation and community, while instilling values of citizenship, service to the United States, personal responsibility and sense of accomplishment. There are more than 120,000 high school students enrolled in AFJROTC at over 880 high schools in the U.S. and overseas.
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