For the Reporter

Sarah Melick, a helicopter flight instructor with the U.S. Navy, has been awarded the Whirly-Girls Memorial Flight Training Scholarship.

The scholarship committee made the announcement at the Whirly-Girls International Annual Awards Banquet during the HAI Heli-Expo convention in Louisville, Ky., on Feb. 28.

Melick attended Auburn Riverside High School and earned her bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University. Upon graduation, she was commissioned in the Navy and reported to flight training in Pensacola, Fla. She flew the Navy’s T-34C in Corpus Christi, Texas, the TH-57B and C in Milton, Fla., and MH-60S Seahawk in San Diego and Guam, deploying to Japan and Kuwait. She returned to Milton and is currently a TH-57 B and C instructor at NAS Whiting Field.

With more than 2,000 rotary hours, Melick would like to do forestry or firefighting flying once she finishes with the Navy, a line of work that requires formal long-line training.

“This scholarship will be a crucial piece of my transition to the civilian helicopter industry,” Melick said.

The Whirly-Girls Memorial Flight Training Scholarship provides any Whirly-Girl member a chance to upgrade her current FAA rating or receive specialized helicopter training of the recipient’s choice.

Whirly-Girls International is a nonprofit, educational and charitable organization dedicated to advancing women in helicopter aviation. The group was founded in 1955 to promote women in the helicopter industry through scholarship awards, and this year 28 scholarships were awarded to women around the world. Their scholarship program is designed to build community and public awareness of the career opportunities that are available to women in the rotorcraft sector of the aviation industry.

Initiated in 1968, the scholarship program has grown from a $500 scholarship to a wide range of training and development scholarships valued today in excess of $150,000.

For more information on Whirly-Girls International and Whirly-Girls scholarships, please visit www.whirlygirls.org or contact Colleen Chen at wgvpsch@whirlygirls.org.