(L-R) Nicolas Higgin, Schuyler Parks, Tucker Shepherd, Mike, Danelle Dobczyk, Xavier Blake, Travis Schofield and Kaleb Cheek

(Email from Kaleb Cheek):
Mike and Brian,

I cannot thank you enough for the continued support throughout the last few years. I have been fortunate enough to receive the aviationinternviews.com scholarship 3 times, and I am so grateful for your everlasting support of my future and that you believe in me the way that you do! What you do for aspiring aviators can be better explained as "paying it forward". With the financial burden that comes along with a degree in aviation, sometimes the road gets a little rough. With the money you generously donate, it relieves some of the burden and assists young aviators in chasing their lifelong dreams that are unlike any other. I want to truly thank you for helping me on my path to becoming an airline pilot. Your generosity and true passion for aviation is inspiring and I hope one day I can carry on your tradition of "paying it forward".

Kaleb Cheek

(Email from Danielle Dobczyk):
Mike,

I am writing to show my appreciation for choosing me as one of the 2016 recipients of the AviationInterviews.com Aviation Scholarship. Now a two-time recipient of this generous award, I cannot thank you enough for all of your help over the past two years.

As a senior at SIU, I am set to graduate this upcoming May with a bachelor's degree in Aviation Management. After that, I plan to either attend graduate school or get an internship in order to further expand my education and experience in the field. Thanks to you, I am one step closer to my goals.

By awarding me the 2016 AviationInterviews.com Aviation Scholarship, you have lightened my financial burden which allows me to focus more on the most important aspect of school, learning. Your generosity, thoughtful advice, and willingness to "pay it forward" inspires me to one day be able to help others and give back to the SIU aviation community. My hope is that one day I will be able to help students achieve their goals just as you have helped me. Thank you again, not only for selecting me for this award, but also for your continuous efforts to support so many aviation students at SIU.

Sincerely,
Danielle Dobczyk

(Email from Xavier Blake):
Mike,

Thank you again for the scholarship, I am very grateful for all the support you have give the students. I know your philosophy was that you would give back if you could and that is what I hope to do one day. The scholarship will go towards my current flight course to help bring down the flight fee cost and I am very exited to start this new chapter and finish up my instrument rating. I look forward to seeing you again and thank you for your time and dedication to our program.

Xavier Blake

(Email from Schuyler Parks):
Dear Mike,

Thank you so much for awarding me one of your AviationInterviews.com Aviation Scholarships. I really appreciate the way that you are willing to give back to SIU in the form of a scholarship. This scholarship will go towards my flight training, and it will help make paying for flight more affordable. Thanks again; your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Schuyler Parks

(Email from Nicolas Higgin):
Dear Mike,

I would like to personally thank you for choosing me as a recipient for the 2016 AviationInterviews.com scholarship! Your scholarship will not only help to relieve some of the financial burden as I work to complete my instrument rating, but it also let's me know that there are people out there that believe in me and are rooting for me as I go through my training and that support means the world to me. For the past few years I have watched you give away multiple scholarships to hard working students and your "pay it forward" attitude is inspiring as you help so many realize their dream. I hope to one day be in a position where I can do the same. Thank you again for everything you have done to help me and the multiple other students in this program.

Sincerely,
Nick Higgin

(Email from Tucker Shepherd):
Hello Mike,

Once again, I just want to say thank you for awarding me your scholarship. Not only is the money going to go a long way in paying for further flight training, but my interview with you really opened up my mind. I learned some facts about the industry that are changing the way I am thinking about my future. Being a winner of the AviationInterviews.com Aviation Scholarship has been a tremendous honor and I hope to apply and interview with you in upcoming years. I have also been spreading the word on how your scholarship and website are so helpful to both current and future aviators.

Thank you for all of your time and help,

Tucker Shepherd

(Email from Travis Schofield):
To Mike and Brian

I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for your generosity. I've always loved flying and can't believe that I'm actually going to school to do what I love. I also can't believe it took me so long to figure this out. Unfortunately, that delay in starting the program means I will soon be losing my GI Bill and will have to find other means to afford finishing this program. I refuse to find myself near graduation at SIU with no way to afford the last few classes. You've helped by granting me my first scholarship, ever. I've applied to scholarships in the past with only negative results. You've given me hope that I can complete this daunting task. I am very thankful that you have chosen to use your success to help others succeed in finishing this very expensive schooling. Without help from people like yourselves, I would find myself with no way to afford graduating, a massive student loan debt, and no certifications to obtain my goals of working in this industry. Also, I checked out your website, aviationinterviews.com, when I was looking into this scholarship, and I hope to get more help from you through that website when trying to obtain that most favorable job. Again, a million 'thank you's.

Sincerely,
Travis Schofield