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Three Mountain home High School students received an unusual early gift this November: summer aviation scholarships months ahead of their programs.
Brook Bailey, Cheyanna Dusin and Tyler Webb earned Leading Edge Aviation Foundation scholarships to attend aviation learning camps of their choice in summer 2025, as they progress in their high school careers learning about opportunities in the aerospace industry.
The foundation launched its scholarship program in 2022, sending students to programs at the National Flight Academy in Pensacola, Florida, and various military academies. It also provides graduate scholarships to Mountain Home students pursuing aviation careers. Currently, three students from the last two years are studying at the college level, and the foundation aims to award at least five scholarships per graduating class as student interest grows.
Doug Meurer, now in his second year teaching the high school’s Aviation STEM Studies program, has seen enrollment grow toward a potential 100 students across three years of study.
“I have never seen students work so hard on math and science problems as I have when they are solving aviation-related problems,” Meurer said. “With the flight simulators available in our classroom, they know their solutions will be applied on a simulated flight and none of them want to crash.”
The foundation donated four FAA-certified flight simulators in 2023 through generous donors. The equipment is housed in the “David and Jeanne Corson Aviation Classroom,” named for the grandparents of Mountain Home Observer publisher Chris Fulton, whose family provided the first major donation for the equipment purchase.
Gerald Gaige, a foundation representative, emphasized that their support extends beyond pilot training. The foundation’s work includes airport visitations, sponsoring airport interns, providing four different types of scholarships, and hosting school airport visits for direct learning.
These efforts aim to highlight various aviation careers, including aircraft engine and airframe mechanics, traffic controllers, airport managers, meteorologists, designers, and engineers – all positions currently in short supply.
“Our students need to know about those rewarding careers available to them – and how they may get there if they choose,” Gaige said.
The three new scholars join previous recipients Johnathon Mason (2022), Emmalyn Stephens (2023), Dylan Prins (2024) and Ethan Darracq (2024) in exploring potential aviation careers.
The foundation accepts donations to support its mission of “Educate, encourage and motivate those interested in aviation who might otherwise be excluded.” Checks and aviation items can be sent to: Leading Edge Aviation Foundation, 6462 AR-126, Midway, AR 72651. For information, call (870) 481-5418.
Christopher Fulton is an award-winning investigative journalist and U.S. Navy veteran living in Arkansas. Fulton graduated from the University of Memphis in 2020 summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. After seeing a void in Mountain Home’s local news market, he founded the Mountain Home Observer and currently serves as the online newspaper’s publisher and news reporter.
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