Air Canada has announced that they are inviting young women to apply for the second annual Captain Judy Cameron Scholarship. The scholarship was established to encourage women to enter the field of aviation and is organized in conjunction with the Northern Lights Aero Foundation. It is named in honour of the airline’s first female pilot.

“Last year, four pilots-in-training benefitted from this scholarship and we look forward to selecting the next honourees,” said Air Canada’s executive vice-president for human resources Arielle Meloul-Wechsler.

Air Canada has committed to set aside $20,000 each year for three years to assist young women who are pursuing a career as a pilot or aircraft maintenance engineer. The previous scholarship winners are Olivia White, Rebecca Beylerian, Urooj Ali and Yasna Taieb and are all currently receiving pilot training.

Captain Cameron became Air Canada’s first female pilot in 1978, having graduated from Selkirk College’s Aviation Technology Program in 1975. She has logged over 23,000 hours in the cockpit of a wide variety of aircraft, including DC-3s, Twin Otters, the Lockheed L-1011 and both the Boeing 767 and 777. She retired in 2015. She has been featured on a Canada Post stamp.

“The scholarship is probably the biggest honour in my entire life,” said Captain Cameron. “And I think it’s just wonderful that they want to support diversity in this business. It is geared towards women who might not otherwise be able to pursue the career.”

Interested women who are Canadian citizens and have been accepted in a post-secondary program for either pilot training or aircraft repair and maintenance can apply using the form appended below. Click here for further information and to submit an application form.

Applications are being accepted by Northern Lights Aero Foundation until November 30, 2020.