Reedley College Aero student receives national award
Student Profile: Reedley College – Natasha Pelham
Natasha Pelham, Reedley College student
Reedley College Aero student Natasha Pelham is a Pratt and Whitney Maintenance Scholarship recipient. Natasha, a Dinuba High School alumna, is one of six in the nation to receive the award. The scholarship, which is sponsored by the Association of Women in Aviation Maintenance, will enable Natasha to attend a training course in Quebec, Canada, in avionics, the science and technology of electrical and electrical devices in aviation.
“Natasha, like the other women that are drawn to the Aero program, are very competitive and self-motivated and go on to be very successful in Aviation Maintenance.” – Robert Takacs
Natasha’s first exposure to the field of aviation was at her high school Career Day, where she learned about the field’s many job opportunities and great paying jobs. She selected Reedley College’s Aviation Maintenance program, Natasha now enjoys working on turbines and has opened her eyes to many different career paths. “I want to do all of it” she says.
Women make up less than two percent of the nation’s aviation maintenance workforce. Robert Takacs, a Reedley College Aeronautics instructor, says, “Natasha, like the other women that are drawn to the Aero program, are very competitive and self-motivated and go on to be very successful in Aviation Maintenance.”
Natasha says the Reedley College Aviation Maintenance instructors are very helpful with the curriculum, as well as helping students locate scholarship money and jobs. She credits the Reedley College Extended Opportunity Programs & Services (EOPS) with helping her toward her educational goal. In addition to helping her with book vouchers, the EOPS program also provided her with counseling. EOPS Counselor Marie Papoutsis is not surprised that Natasha selected a career in which very few women enter. “She is very comfortable being herself,” said Marie, who went on to describe Natasha as a very mature, well-rounded student on the Dean’s List who could go into any field and be successful.
Natasha plans to graduate from Reedley College with an AS degree. She will continue taking night classes wherever she finds work. She says she will stay in school until she has completed every degree in her field.
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