2020-21 OAC Scholarship recipients honoured in virtual ceremony

On Aug. 12, the Ontario Aerospace Council (OAC) announced the recipients of its 2020-2021 Aerospace Studies Scholarships during a virtual ceremony hosted by Dwayne Charette, president and chief operating officer of Airbus Helicopters Canada, and chair of the OAC Scholarship Review Committee.

The council saw a record number of submissions for the scholarships this year, as 75 students ranging from first-year undergraduates to PhD hopefuls cast their ballot to receive the $2,500 prize.

“That did not make it easy for the review committee,” Charette admitted during his opening remarks. “It was really challenging.”

The four awards — three presented as an OAC Scholarship for Aerospace Studies and one for Women in Aerospace Studies — were presided over by the OAC’s review committee, and were granted based off both academic achievement and the students’ passion for aerospace as expressed in an application essay.

The first recipient of one of the three OAC Scholarships for Aerospace Studies introduced was Elizabeth Drew, who is wrapping up her second year of mechatronics engineering studies at the University of Waterloo and preparing to embark on an internship with Bolton, Ont.-based Canadensys Aerospace during her next semester.

Drew fostered a passion for aerospace from a young age. After being introduced to aviation by her father, who holds a private pilot’s licence and took her flying as a child, which Drew “loved”, she attended space camp in Houston. There, she was able to get a behind-the-scenes peak at the engineering process that goes into manufacturing spacecraft and propulsion rockets.

“I was amazed by the level of work and collaboration that goes into making huge space projects work,” Drew said of the experience. It was enough to incite a passion and desire to embark on a career in aerospace, which lead to her studies in mechatronics.

The second recipient introduced by Charette was Ashley Mills, a fourth year aviation technology student at Seneca College. Unlike Drew, Mills’ passion for aviation wasn’t ingrained in her at a young age, but developed fervently after joining the Air Cadets as a teenager.

Upon joining the Cadets, Mills was taken up in a glider and immediately fell in love.

“It just felt so free,” she recounted during the ceremony. She earned her private pilots license with the Cadets shortly thereafter and knew that it was her calling.

For Mills, the excitement of a career in aerospace and aviation comes not only from the work, but also the tight-knit community within the field.

“I’m excited to be in this industry, its like one big family,” she said.

The final recipient of a OAC Scholarship for Aerospace Studies was Josh Bisson, an aviation technology student attending his third year of studies at the First Nations Technical Institute.

Bisson is a member of the Ojibway and Odawa Indigenous community of the Wikwimikong and M’Chigeeng First Nations on Manitoulin Island and described his passion for aviation as way to burst out of his own personal “bubble” that he said had clouded over him for most of his young life.

“I found aviation and it was my escape,” he said during the ceremony. While studying for a career in aviation, Bisson also expressed his desires to show other youth how finding their passion is a way of bursting out of their own personal “bubble.”

“I’ve not only expanded my bubble but I’ve popped it [through aviation], I’ve flown to places I’ve never been and I’ve flown higher than I ever thought I could,” he explained.

For the OAC Scholarship for Women in Aerospace Studies, Paige Rennison was announced as the lucky recipient. Rennison just wrapped up her high school studies, and is about to embark on a post-secondary education in aerospace engineering at Carleton University.

While expressing that she doesn’t have much experience with aviation currently, she’s been excited to start on her journey through the industry ever since joining the Air Cadets at the age of 14. Like Mills, she earned her pilots licence with the Cadets and set “big goals” for herself for a career in aviation since then. While also progressing her own studies in the sector, Rennison said she enjoys teaching others who are curious about the industry.

“Congratulations and the best from OAC, we’ll be keeping an on you as we’re always looking for new talent,” said Charette after each awardee was given a chance to speak. “Keep that passion, continue to move forward and you will be successful.”

Near the end of the presentation, Moira Harvey, executive director of the OAC, informed the recipients that they would be invited to next year’s in-person ceremony, where they’ll be awarded the chance to meet industry professionals face to face, offering the students a valuable chance to network.

Though the ceremony had to be held virtually due to the ongoing global pandemic, it wasn’t the only aspect of the scholarships affected by COVID-19. While generally funded by the council’s annual golf tournament, Charette said that a number of sponsors — namely BMP Ben Machine Products, Collins Aerospace, KPMG Canada, Mazak, MHI Aerospace Canada, and Safran Landing Systems — stepped up to help fund the scholarships in the absence of this year’s tournament.

“We look forward to having a celebration in person this time next year,” Harvey said as the ceremony wrapped. “We think you have great careers in front of you and we hope you will stay in touch.”