National Program Has Awarded 10 Scholarships In 10 Months

On Monday, Able Flight announced its latest winners of flight training scholarships for people with disabilities. Receiving awards are Jessica Scharle of Chapel Hill, NC, and Tyler Ryan of Walden, NY.

"Jessica and Ryan are two deserving people who both share a love of aviation, yet their personal stories are very different," said Able Flight's Executive Director Charles Stites. "Since her birth, Jessica has shown a determination and willpower that has given her the ability to overcome numerous obstacles, while Ryan has refused to allow his recent injury to change his goals in life. We welcome both Jessica and Ryan as Able Flight Scholarship winners, and wish them great success in their training."

Jessica Scharle, 23, was born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, a condition that caused her to have very limited motion in very joint except her right hip. A recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jessica not only worked two jobs to help put herself through school... but also managed to take 10 hours of flying lessons (a fact she revealed to her parents only later).

Of her selection as an Able Flight Scholarship winner, she says, "I hope that in achieving my personal dream of independently experiencing flight, I will be able to inspire others, disabled or not, to never give up on their dreams. But instead, I would encourage them to be relentless in finding a way, or making their own."

Tyler Ryan was a senior in high school when an October 2006 motorcycle accident caused a catastrophic spinal cord injury, leaving him paralyzed from the bottom of his ribs down. After the accident, the teenager who had once played basketball, football, golf, baseball, felt that his life's plan of becoming a pilot had ended. Even so, facing a future that had changed in an instant, he had the inner strength and support of family that allowed him to finish high school on time, and he is now enrolled in college near his home.

"When I got hurt last October, I thought my dream of becoming a pilot was over," Ryan said. "I was told I would never walk again, and to me that meant I would never fly. I am so excited that this program is giving me a chance to continue my life and follow my dreams. It is so amazing that there are people out there that still care about other people, and not just themselves. This program will make me more independent and give me the opportunity to be free again and not worry about my disability. I can still fulfill my dreams of becoming a pilot."

With their selections, Jessica and Ryan have become the ninth and tenth scholarship winners in the 10 months since Able Flight awarded its first scholarships.

FMI: www.ableflight.org