By the time she was 19 years old, Renée Edwards had already obtained her Private and Commercial Pilot License from the Durham Flight Centre & Centennial College in Canada. She returned to her homeland, Antigua, to teach music at a kindergarten school while she waited on the opportunity to pursue her dream of becoming an engineer. In 2007, the dream became a reality when Renée’s mom showed her an ad in the paper for a scholarship in aircraft maintenance. The ad was published in several Caribbean newspapers by regional airline LIAT. Renée became one of six persons awarded full scholarships by LIAT to pursue three-year courses in aircraft maintenance engineering at the Art Williams & Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School in Guyana. The others were Dorian Nicholas, also from Antigua & Barbuda; Brad Harper and Gerston Blenman from Barbados, and Kamal Welcome and Althesmour Black from St. Vincent & the Grenadines. As part of the programme the students are involved in line maintenance with a domestic airline which operates out of the Ogle Airport in Georgetown as well as a larger carrier at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. Renée, who has been at the school since October 2007, says “it’s a good experience. I’ve learnt a lot since I’ve been here and I love it. I’ve been in love with engineering, engines, mechanical and that kind of stuff for a long while so this is not hard for me.” Her Antiguan counterpart, Dorian recalls that when he arrived at LIAT’s headquarters to submit his application, he was informed that the deadline had already passed. But he submitted the application anyway and his prayer that was answered a few days later when he was informed that a young lady from St. Vincent & the Grenadines who had been offered the scholarship was no longer able to take up the offer. The LIAT offer was certainly a blessing, he says, because soon after graduating from the Antigua State College, he had applied to a flight school in Canada but, although accepted, had been forced to turn down the offer. “At the time I didn’t have the finances the school required for the entire course. I was disappointed, but I decided that if I could not fly I would try and get into engineering,” he says. As he enters the final year of the three-year programme, Dorian said he and his colleagues were grateful for the support they have received from the regional airline. “The initiative taken by LIAT is an excellent one. To get experience with aircraft, especially in the engineering field, is by no means cheap,” Dorian added. Vincentian, Althesmour Black said he had been contemplating a career in engineering when he came across the LIAT ad. But, although awarded the scholarship, he had to make the decision whether to accept it. “About a week before I came to Guyana I lost my father. It was a case of should I go or should I stay home? In the end, I decided to go because he was always pushing me into the engineering field. He actually knew that I got the scholarship and died about two days after I got the good news,” Althesmour said. His compatriot Kamal said he had been reluctant at first to submit an application because of his age. “The ad said applicants should be between the ages of 18 and 21 and I was about 23 then. The minimum requirement was five CXC subjects but I had four but with encouragement from my mom I applied,” said Kamal, whose first love was medicine. But he has not regretted making the switch. Brad, meanwhile, had always been interested in planes and when he was shown the advertisement by his mother he “immediately went online and started the application process. But he has words of encouragement for other Caribbean young people contemplating a career in aircraft maintenance: “You have to know what you want, apply yourself and work towards it.” Gerston, his fellow Barbadian agreed. “Do some research into the field before you get into it. Ask yourself if this is where you want to be for the next ten years of your life. This is one of those fields that if you go in with one foot only you are not going to make it. You have to go in with both feet and be prepared to stay for the long haul,” Gerston said. The six students are now pursuing their final year of studies that will be followed by the examination administered by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) in order to acquire their Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Licence.