Scholarships for York students

Aviation management is taking off in Jamaica.
Neil and Carole Phillips, of the J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home on Linden Boulevard, recently endowed the City University of New York (CUNY) Aviation Institute at York College with $32,000 in annual scholarships. The money will enable selected incoming students to earn bachelor’s degrees in aviation management there at virtually no cost.
Beginning with students entering the program in the fall 2007 semester, “This money basically amounts to two full scholarships for two students for four years,” said Michel Hodge, acting director of the Aviation Institute, who described the Phillips family as great aviation enthusiasts.
The Phillipses did not return a call for comment.
Although the Aviation Institute was established in 2002 with a grant from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, its degree in aviation management is in its first year, said Hodge. Six students are enrolled in the degree program, which he described as offering “sound business fundamentals” slanted toward the aviation industry.
Students will be ready for low- and mid-level management positions within the industry after successful completion of the program, Hodge said.
Each fall two students with demonstrated financial need will be chosen to receive the $4,000 per year award. The scholarship funds may be applied to tuition, fees, books and/or other educational materials and may be renewed for a maximum of four years with satisfactory academic achievement.
To be considered for the scholarship students applying to the degree program must have maintained a high school average between 78 and 83, have participated in voluntary school or community service and write an essay. The recipients will be chosen by the Admissions and Financial Services offices.
Hodge said that the Aviation Institute is thankful that the Phillipses are helping ensure that students from the local community are prepared for the numerous aviation-related jobs available to them. Many have gone to people from outside southeast Queens in the past, he said.
The Aviation Institute offers the Phillipses, “a world of thanks,” Hodge said.