By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current
In the photo are, from left, Jason Schaad, Nathan Dunker; Cooper Schaad and Gwen Schaad
Three members of the Geneseo High School Aviation Club and student members of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), have successfully completed flight training through the Ray Aviation Scholarship Program.
The young men are Nathan Dunker, son of Keith and Tina Dunker, a graduate of Geneseo High School and the 2023 recipient scholarship; Cooper Schaad, son of Jason and Gwen Schaad, also a GHS graduate and the 2024 recipient; and Bryson Boxell, son of Brent and Shelly Boxell, who is a senior at GHS, 2025 recipient.
A recent gathering of EAA Chapter 410 at the Gen-Air Park, Geneseo, included a special celebration to honor the three EAA Chapter 410 Ray Scholarship recipients and their families “for their enthusiasm and hard work while successfully completing ground and flight training to earn their respective private pilot licenses,” said Kent Johnson, who serves as president of EAA Chapter 410, “We also were celebrating our EAA Chapter 410’s 100 percent successful completion rate for the three years that we have participated in the program.”
In the photo are from left, Keith Dunker, Tina Dunker, Nathan Dunker and Kent Johnson. Contributed photos
Nathan Dunker, the first scholarship recipient, presented a program at the recent celebration, sharing about his very first airplane ride just a few years ago at the Geneseo airport, to being awarded the Ray Aviation Scholarship by EAA Chapter 410 of Geneseo, to where he is with his current aviation accomplishments. He is employed as a Certified Flight Instructor at the University of Dubuque, and he now has several advanced flight ratings including instrument, commercial, Flight Instructor, and Flight Instructor Instrument. He will be earning his multi-engine rating and multi-engine instructor rating in March of this year.
Kent Johnson explained, “Although earning additional pilot ratings is not a requirement to be selected as a Ray Scholarship Recipient, all three of our scholars intend to pursue aviation-related careers.”
Cooper Schaad is attending Utah Valley University and is considering missionary work as a pilot.
Bryon Boxell is a senior at Geneseo High School and is enrolled in the aviation program at Embry Riddle University in Arizona, starting in August of this year.
In the photo are, from left, Kent Johnson, president of the EAA Chapter 410, Brent Boxell, Bryson Boxell and Shelly Boxell.
Johnson shared additional information about EAA Chapter 410 of Geneseo – “With funding provided by the James Ray Aviation Foundation, local chapters are given the privilege of selecting qualified candidates to receive a scholarship to be used for flight training. The Chapter membership takes on the responsibility to mentor their selected candidate to the successful completion of a private pilot’s license. The Ray Aviation Scholarship program is designed for students of high school age with the intent of building confidence in young people and instilling in them the knowledge that they can indeed accomplish challenging goals to achieve success in their lives. As a secondary goal, the Ray Foundation is striving to increase the flight training completion rate to at least 80 percent. Industry wide, the completion rate of those starting flight training and successfully completing a pilot license certification is much lower than the 80 percent figure.”
“EAA Chapter 410 of Geneseo is now three for three, with a 100 percent flight completion rate,” Johnson added.
For more information about EAA Chapter 410, the GHS Aviation Club, or the Ray Aviation Scholarship, visit https://chapters.eaa.org/eaa410.
