Conestoga news

April 3, 2023 7:12 AM

Awards celebration honours Aviation students

Several Conestoga Aviation students were recently honoured with awards at Great Lakes Helicopters and Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre’s annual Wings Banquet. Held March 3, the banquet also highlighted the flight training milestones of the college’s Aviation students.

“We were thrilled to celebrate the successes of our aviation students who earned their “Wings” and several additional awards,” said Emily Crombez, Aviation program chair. “In the past year, Conestoga Aviation students achieved their Private Pilot Licences, Night Ratings, Commercial Pilot Licences and Multi-Engine Instrument Ratings. Congratulations to each of the award recipients who demonstrated leadership, professionalism, dedication and perseverance in their studies, volunteer engagements and flight training throughout the duration of the program.”

This year’s award winners are:

  • Conestoga College Aviation Award for Professionalism: Auriel Giroux
  • Conestoga College Aviation Award for Professionalism: Suhail Mohammed
  • Porter Star Award: Quinn Meyer
  • Jazz Pathway Award for Professionalism: Quinn Meyer
  • Jazz Pathway Award for Professionalism & Diversity: Suhail Mohammed       
  • Private Air Scholarship: Quinn Meyer
  • WWFC Lift Scholarship Winners: Jennifer Earnshaw, Alysha Bryant
  • Webster Memorial Trophy Competition Finalist: Alivia Chanyi

The Wings Banquet also included a memorial for Jaden Hallman, a 2019 Aviation graduate who passed away last September following a plane crash in Saskatchewan.

Conestoga’s Aviation - General Arts and Science pilot training program is the only collaborative diploma program that offers a choice between flying airplanes at Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre or flying helicopters at Great Lakes Helicopter. Through pilot training at one of the flight centres, and classes at Conestoga, students can complete a diploma in two years as well as the pilot training to allow them to undertake the Transport Canada Commercial Pilot Licence testing.