Epic Flight Academy Announces 2023 Aviation Scholarship Winners

2023 Epic Flight Academy Scholarship Winners — (L-R) **Shemuel** **Ortiz**, **Orion** **Maka**, New Smyrna Beach Mayor **Fred** **Cleveland**, **Juliana** **Gonzalez**, **Robert** **Brown** (not pictured: **Melissa Hernandez**, **Roger Roden**, **Cody Stebbins**)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NOVEMBER 6, 2023

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New Smyrna Beach, FL – On Saturday, November 4, 2023, Epic Flight Academy announced the recipients of the 8th Annual Aviation Scholarship Awards during a special event and career fair. Seven high school students received a total of $80,000 in scholarships. New Smyrna Beach Mayor Fred Cleveland presented the awards on behalf of Epic. Robert Brown and Orion Maka each won $20,000 for aircraft mechanic training. Juliana Gonzalez, Melissa Hernandez, Roger Roden, and Cody Stebbins each won $5,000 for flight training, and Shemuel Ortiz won $20,000 for flight training.

Epic’s Director of Education Cindy Lovell said, “The judges reviewed more than 50 applications from 16 states. The quality of applicants impressed everyone on the team. We are excited to welcome the 2023 scholarship winners to the Epic family.”

Danny Perna, Epic founder and CEO, added, “We’re extremely proud of these students look forward to getting them started in their training. We’re also grateful to our aviation partners who provided sponsorships and attended the career fair along with our college parters.”

Epic sponsors enjoyed a fishing tournament prior to the scholarship event. Piedmont Airlines won first place, FlyExclusive won second, and the third place team included Ameriflight and JS Firm.

Since Epic Flight Academy launched the annual scholarship event in 2016, the company has presented more than $360,000 to 27 students. The 2023 scholarship winners will begin training in 2024.