Covid Doesn’t Stop Flying Dreams Coming True

The best way to spend $10,000 in the Covid season is to train to be a pilot. Better still is when the $10,000 has been awarded to you by the Pauwels Flying Scholarship, possibly New Zealand’s most valuable aviation scholarship.

Although there have been four recipients of the prestigious Scholarship so far, Ryan Verwey’s situation is the most interesting. As he begins to train for his desired career in aviation, the industry is being massacred by the fall out of the Covid -19 pandemic.

He started at the International Academy of Aviation in January this year. When lockdown was announced in March, he was part way through a series of theory exams. There was a sudden and intense push to get through all exams before lockdown came into effect, to make sure he could stay on schedule when lockdown was lifted.

Every day during lockdown, Ryan read and viewed multiple stories of struggling airlines, pilots losing jobs and generally, a ruthless routing of the industry he wishes to join.

John Pauwels, benefactor of the Scholarships, was concerned whether his scholarship recipients were being put off by what was happening in aviation. However, each recipient advised they were watching developments but knew that the impact on them would be minimal – after all, it will be more than a decade before they are even looking at airline roles.

“Now is definitely the time to be training to become a pilot”, Ryan said. “The skies are quieter and there is less distraction at the airport”.

Ryan saw the scholarship advertised at Hillmorton and as he was interested in becoming a pilot he decided to apply. Once he was informed that he had been shortlisted, he found his urgency to win and become a pilot grew significantly. He was nervous about competing for the scholarship as some of his friends were also competing. By winning he knew their hopes would be dashed.

“By applying for the Scholarship, the idea of becoming an airline pilot became more real and achievable, and I wanted to do my best” said Ryan. “I had a bit of self-doubt whilst undergoing all the testing for the scholarship but my dream of being pilot pushed me on”.

When the letter advising his outcome was received, he expected the worst and nervously opened the envelope. Finding out he was the winner was an incredible feeling and his parents were beside themselves with pride.

“I had achieved this myself, without any parental input. It was a great learning experience as to what I can achieve” said Ryan with well placed pride.

John Pauwels is the benefactor of the Pauwels Flying Scholarship Trust. A generous scholarship granting $10,000 of flying hours to a young person in the Canterbury region who wishes to become an airline pilot but comes from a background that doesn’t have access to necessary financial resources.

After a near 50 year career in aviation, nearly 40 of them as a pilot for Air New Zealand, John retired in 2018, from the rank of B777 Captain, having set up the scholarship. The trust gained recognition as a charity in 2019. It is a scholarship that has two distinct pathways to being awarded.

The scholarship began by being open to those who are enrolled at Hillmorton High School in Christchurch. This is the school that John Pauwels attended. The inaugural winner was Wen Seng Chen in 2018 and Ryan Verwey won in 2019.

Additionally, the second pathway is the Special Award. This is also for $10,000 but is given on merit only. It is granted to young people who have shown remarkable motivation and commitment and have been nominated by peers in aviation. Typically, they will be members of the Young Eagles. The inaugural recipient of the Special Award was Anaru Jackson in 2019, from Hornby High School; and recently, Beni Rae, from Hagley Community College was chosen as the 2020 recipient.

The International Aviation Academy of New Zealand is a partner in the Scholarship scheme and contributes an additional $3000 in theory lessons and uniform jacket to the successful recipients. As such, the total value of the award to each recipient is $13,000. The Academy is also a significant part of the selection process, providing flight testing and formal interviews.

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