Air Canada, CAE Celebrate Fifth Anniversary of the Captain Judy Cameron Scholarship
Air Canada and CAE marked the fifth anniversary of the Captain Judy Cameron Scholarship, announcing that applications for the 2024 edition of the Scholarship are now open.
Up to eight young Canadian women studying to become commercial pilots or aircraft maintenance engineers will be awarded scholarships to pursue their training in 2024. Of the eight, four recipients training to be commercial pilots will join the CAE Women in Flight program as ambassadors.
Judy Cameron, Boeing 777 Captain at Air Canada (retired), and Director, Northern Lights Aero Foundation, said: “As this scholarship goes into its fifth year, it is incredibly gratifying to see the accomplishments of previous recipients. These young women have realized their dreams and are soaring high in all regions of Canada. From the cockpit of a 737 to a flight instructor job, these scholarship recipients are wonderful role models. I am so proud of Air Canada and CAE’s support for Canadian women in aviation.”
Murray Strom, Senior Vice President, Flight Operations and Maintenance at Air Canada, said that: “It makes me, and everyone at Air Canada, extremely proud to see the success of many of our past recipients of the Captain Judy Cameron Scholarship. Already, some have achieved their goals of becoming commercial pilots or Aircraft Maintenance Engineers and I look forward to seeing their careers progress. And the future is bright not only for them, but the next group of recipients as we celebrate the fifth anniversary of this wonderful scholarship named after Air Canada’s first female pilot. Congratulations to all.”
Michel Azar-Hmouda, CAE’s Division President, Commercial Aviation Training, said: “We are proud to help fund the training of our four Women in Flight ambassadors and look forward to seeing all eight scholarship recipients follow in Captain Judy Cameron’s footsteps and pursue a career in aviation at a critical time. CAE forecasts a need for 63,000 commercial pilots in North America over the next 10 years, so we have to broaden the appeal of a career in aviation and support underrepresented groups, including women, who currently represent only five percent of pilots. Not only will these deserving recipients have the chance to follow their chosen career paths, but they will also become role models to the young women who will become the next generation of aviation professionals.”
The annual Captain Judy Cameron Scholarships, established in honour of Air Canada’s first female pilot to help foster the next generation of women following in her trailblazing footsteps, are awarded in conjunction with the Northern Lights Aero Foundation.
The Captain Judy Cameron scholarships were launched in 2019 and initially awarded to four recipients. Since 2023, Air Canada and CAE have joined forces to double the number of recipients and award eight scholarships to deserving women.
