New Southwest Airlines Scholarship Encourages Female Engineers
Southwest Airlines officials visited their alma mater’s Daytona Beach campus to present a $50,000 check endowing a new scholarship for undergraduate engineering students.
Brian Hirshman, Senior Vice President of Technical Operations at Southwest, spoke at the presentation ceremony held at the Lehman Engineering & Technology Center. “It’s really exciting for us alumni to come back—the improvements to the campus over the years have been amazing,” he said, as he gestured to the nearby Jim W. Henderson Administration & Welcome Center currently under construction, one of several new buildings on campus.
According to Hirshman, recruiting engineers is a constant challenge for Southwest Airlines, whose 700 aircraft perform more than 4,000 flights per day. He noted that only four of the 70 engineers at Southwest are women. “Southwest is in need of engineers, particularly female engineers,” he said, “and given that the engineering programs at Embry-Riddle are second to none, this scholarship makes perfect sense.”
The scholarship program will help grow female enrollment to achieve a better gender balance both at Embry-Riddle and in the industry, but the partnership has other benefits as well. Dr. Richard Heist, Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of the Daytona Beach campus, stated, “Southwest is a top-of-the-line, forward-thinking company, and this strong new relationship is a smart move that gives Southwest a stake in our College of Engineering, where we can collaborate on applied research.”
From the perspective of the Dean of the College of Engineering, Dr. Maj Mirmirani, the new scholarship is most valuable because it directly supports student access to Embry-Riddle programs. “Almost every day I receive a letter from a high school student who is passionate about engineering,” he said. “We want every talented student to be able to go to school here regardless of their financial situation.”
The first award from the scholarship fund, $2,500, will go to an Embry-Riddle student who definitely could use financial assistance, Gloria King of Flagler Beach, Fla. “Right now I’m working three jobs to put myself through school,” said the senior, “so I’m very grateful for this award that will help me finish my bachelor of science degree in Aerospace Engineering.”
Eligibility for the annual Southwest Airlines scholarship is based on the following criteria: undergraduate student enrolled in the College of Engineering at the Daytona Beach campus; maintain a GPA of at least 3.25; have at least 60 credit hours; have financial need; preference to a female candidate.
The College of Engineering offers bachelor’s degrees in aerospace engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and software engineering as well as master’s degrees in aerospace engineering, computer and electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and software engineering. The annual “Best Colleges” guide produced by U.S. News & World Report has ranked Embry-Riddle’s undergraduate aerospace engineering program the best in the nation for the last 12 years.
Accompanying Brian Hirshman to the presentation ceremony were two other Southwest Airlines officials who are Embry-Riddle graduates—Jim Sokol, Vice President of Maintenance Operations, and Amy Oonk, Director of Engineering—as well as the airline’s Senior Manager of Maintenance & Engineering Administration, Melanie Jones.
Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Southwest Airlines serves 72 cities in 37 states, carrying 88 million passengers annually, making it the largest U.S. carrier based on domestic passengers. The low-fare, high-frequency, point-to-point airline earned a net income of $459 million in 2010. For more information, visit www.southwest.com.
