East Meadow native earns aircraft dealer’s scholarship

Thomas Pepe, an East Meadow native and Vaughn College student, was one of eight students recognized by the International Aircraft Dealers Association with a $4,000 scholarship toward his studies in airport/airline management.

On receiving the award, Pepe said that he felt honored, humbled and grateful and his parents were "overwhelmed with joy and very proud." He aspires to achieve academic excellence while continuing to gain hands on experience at LaGuardia Airport working on a paid internship with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which he began on June 1, 2017. On graduating, he hopes to stay with the company and earn a full-time position in airport operations.

He is the current president of the American Association of Airport Executives student chapter at Vaughn College and seeks to stay in the role.

The IADA award is presented to qualified full-time undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents who have a 3.0 minimum grade-point average on a 4.0 grade scale. Students must be studying courses in corporate aviation management, aerodynamics, aircraft systems, aviation safety, finance, business marketing, economics and/or studies that relate to aviation business/management.

Working for business aircraft owners globally, the International Aircraft Dealers Association provides a facility for professional standards, ethics, and exchange of information among its members and to the public for the purpose of creating a more efficient market, facilitating transactions and providing transparency into the transaction process, thereby increasing business aircraft ownership worldwide.

—Brian Stieglitz