For More Information Contact: Kathryn Creedy                                             321 405 4395          kcreedy@raccaonline.org  RACCA Announces Impressive $20,000 in 2022 Scholarship Award Winners  Hyannis, MA, December 12, 2022 – The Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association (RACCA) and UPS announced eight deserving aviation scholars as recipients of the...

For More Information Contact: Kathryn Creedy                                            

321 405 4395          kcreedy@raccaonline.org 

RACCA Announces Impressive $20,000 in 2022 Scholarship Award Winners 

Hyannis, MA, December 12, 2022 – The Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association (RACCA) and UPS announced eight deserving aviation scholars as recipients of the 2022 RACCA Scholarship and RACCA UPS Scholarship awards to foster their continuing education in pursing aviation careers.  

RACCA scholarship winners, awarded $2,500 each, include Demarcus Griffin, Stephanie McClendon, C. Sahara Billman and Simarjit Singh. The RACCA UPS FlightPath Scholarship, also $2,500 and designed for aspiring pilots, maintenance and flight operations professionals, was awarded to Amos Igwe, Cameron McCoy, Jackson Heagy and Evan Wetsch.

“Scholarships are of paramount importance to building the aviation workforce, so it is incumbent on industry to reach back and give those just starting out a helping hand,” said RACCA President Stan Bernstein. “Our scholarship winners are doing that already as they mentor youth and promote aviation careers even as they continue to train. By helping them, we help the entire industry.” 

RACCA Scholars 

Demarcus Griffen

Demarcus Griffin, from Memphis, TN, recently began flight training and is working on his private pilot license but he will be graduating with honors with an AAS Degree in aviation maintenance technology. He also has gained partial maintenance certification necessary for his career and is looking forward to completing his AMT certification. Griffin was attracted to the cargo industry by working for FedEx after his high school graduation. A student at Arkansas State University (ASU), Mid-South, Griffin was described as one of its top students in its Aviation Maintenance Technician program and has only one semester remaining. He continues his work at FedEx where he is now an AMT Helper on the night shift gaining hands-on experience from certified mechanics.

Stephanie McClendon

Stephanie McClendon is a student at Delta State University’s Flight program and achieved her private pilot license in eight months, becoming the first student in her class to do so. Described as someone who will go above and beyond in her career and a great asset to aviation, McClendon completed her instrument rating last summer. Originally from Whitmore Lake, MI, she is active in Alpha Eta Rho professional aviation fraternity and became its vice president in her freshman year. McClendon is also an officer in the Women in Aviation Magnolia Chapter and is a leading member of the Delta State Precision Flight Team where she promotes aviation careers. This work includes representing Delta State at the Mid-South Air Show and DSU’s Aviation Career Fair. Within the next two years she wants to achieve her CFI, CFII and MEI certifications before building time to become a regional cargo pilot. McClendon’s volunteer work includes FOD clearance at her local airport, working with the elderly and at the local animal shelter.

C. Sahara Billman

Sahara Billman attends Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL realizing her lifetime dream of pursuing an aviation career. Originally from McKinney, TX, she is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Science where she is on the Dean’s List. She completed her instrument and commercial ratings and is a member of the university’s Flight Professional Conduct Board and Women in Aviation. Her family’s inability to finance her pilot dreams failed to cool her enthusiasm and, at the age of 14, Billman began seeking organizations to help her achieve her dream. She began working with Tango Thirty-One Aero Club, a nonprofit focused on helping underprivileged youth learn to fly through “sweat equity” and working in the maintenance bay. During high school she helped restore two aircraft from the ground up including engine overhauls and full build-up of Continental 0-200-A engine while graduating from high school a year early. She served as the club’s president and is such a staunch advocate for youth aviation, she would like to run a group similar to Tango Thirty-One wherever she lands in her career. Recommended for continually seeking challenges and her dedication to success, Billman is also known for her personal character and integrity. Billman is a now a certificated private pilot and a member of ERAU’s Flight Competition Team.

Simarjit Singh

Simarjit Singh began his flight training this year and has already earned his private pilot certification, among the first in his class at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology to achieve this goal. Hailing from Queens, NY, he will shortly earn his instrument rating, the next milestone in the journey that began in childhood when he decided he would be a pilot. Known for his leaderhip skills, Singh recently passed the instrument oral check ride and waiting for the instrument flight check ride. He works line operations at Heritage Flight Academy and takes a keen interest in the workings of engines to better handle the aircraft should problems arise. An avid aviation documentary watcher, Singh uses them to learn crucial skills like crew resource management as well as to gather information on how airline airplanes work. 

RACCA UPS Flightpath Scholars 

Amos Igwe

Amos Igwe defied his own assumptions that he could never become a pilot. But, after taking a flight with an instructor friend, his career goal changed to a cargo pilot. He already had a career at UPS as a package handler and the nightly dedication of his coworkers inspired him to use that same mentality to pursue a flying career. He was named Leader of the Year by his fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha. Igwe volunteered to help Hispanic youth immigrants integrate and succeed in their new schools and has served as director of operations for Spin for Steven which focuses on helping people with rare cancers. He and the organization raised $28,000 and attracted 700 participants to its event. Described as an man of character, intelligence, leadership, and kindness, Igwe went from zero flight time to his multi-engine instructor certification one year after graduating from the University of Louisville. He worked as an intern for the UPS FlightPath program and participated in the Tri-Annual Airport Disaster Event at Louisville International Airport (SDF). His goal is to become a Gold Seal Instructor before ultimately achieving his dream of becoming a cargo pilot.

Cameron McCoy

Cameron McCoy gained his passion for aviation as a boy and dreamed of becoming an airline pilot. He began his journey to become a professional pilot in high school where he worked at a local grocery store to pay for flight training and gain his private pilot license. Originally from Houston, TX, McCoy graduated with honors from Baylor University’s Bachelor of Aviation Sciences program. He has completed his ratings to CFII. He worked for UPS in its FlightPath Internship program and cited the company culture and people for pursuing his flight goals. McCoy’s passion for serving others started at age eight when he volunteered at church eventually becoming its sound and lighting engineer. At Baylor, he served in the Student Aviation Organization, traveling to air shows and promoting its aviation program. McCoy is also a mentor to nine students at Flight Club 502 where he organized eight tours for 100 Flight Club 502 kids at UPS’s flight training center giving them an experience in the 757/767/MD11 Level D simulator. Since then, many of those who participated, now want to fly for UPS. McCoy also mentors high school students helping them take the next step in their aviation careers. He is using his scholarship to achieve his multi-engine time in preparation for flying for Ameriflight before returning to UPS.

Jackson Heagy

Growing up in Prospect, KY, Jackson Heagy did not think about an aviation career until joining the UPS IT department after graduating with a bachelor’s in management information systems from the University of Alabama. He grew up in a family working in the UPS flight training department, however. After joining the airline, it was watching UPS aircraft that inspired him to become a cargo pilot. He earned his wings at Clark County Airport, Sellersburg, IN,where he completed an accelerated program in which he gained his PPL, instrument, CSEL, CMEL, CFI, CFII and MEI within 10 months. Having accomplished this, he began teaching at ATP Flight School where he instructed private, commercial and CFII students. As a UPS FlightPath Airline Safety Intern in UPS Safety Risk Management Department, Heagy worked with FOQA, ASAP and eReport data, combining his technology and flight experiences. He continues to work with members of the Thoroughbred Flying Club and plans to join Ameriflight next year to gain experience before returning to a UPS career. He also wants to continue working in the training center as an instructor using FOQA and ASAP data to improve aviation safety.

Evan Wetsch

A native of Louisville, KY, Evan Wetsch had a lifelong interest in aviation, but it was not until his junior year in college he began his flight career. As a FlightPath intern, Wetsch worked in the quality assurance department in the flight training center. At my job I analyze flight training data to make training safer, more efficient, and to comply with FAA and UPS standards. He has since earned his PPL before completing his degree in Computer Science Engineering from the University of Kentucky.  Since then, he earned his instrument, MEL commercial and SEL commercial in just under 70 days. He served as a CFI at Bowman Field in Louisville, and recently volunteered at Women in Aviation’s Girls in Aviation event at the field promoting the wide variety of aviation careers, including the cargo industry. Wetsch also volunteered for SDF’s mock Aviation Disaster Drill. He attended the National Intercollegiate Flying Association conference in Ohio promoting aviation careers to hundreds of students, sharing information on cargo flying and the FlightPath program. He plans to fly for Ameriflight before returning to UPS.

About RACCA

The Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association (RACCA) is dedicated to representing and serving approximately 50-member Part 135 and Part 121 cargo carriers who have about 1,000 aircraft in their fleets. Their role in the aviation

industry is meeting the cargo needs of small communities and connecting them to the national transportation aviation system, many via the global networks of FedEx, UPS and DHL. RACCA focuses on improving safety and representing its members in Washington.

Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association

35 Hinckley Road Hyannis, MA 02601

508-778-7788  raccaemail@aol.com

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