Printed in the High Desert Advocate Edition September 3, 2021.
Spring Creek native Sarah Amerigian has been awarded the 2021 Sauveur and Julie Elizagoyen Memorial Aviation Scholarship. She becomes the eighth recipient of the scholarship, which pays up to $7,500 of the cost of earning a private pilot’s license.
Sarah is the daughter of Seth and Roxanne Amerigian of Spring Creek. She graduated from Ruby View Christian Homeschool and is attending Great Basin Community College. She became interested in aviation while watching helicopters draw water from South Fork Reservoir to combat wildfires. She then began looking for flight training opportunities. Her exploration led her to Silverhawk Aviation in Idaho for a demonstration ride, an experience that cemented her interest in a flying career.
Sarah has been accepted for the aviation program at the Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, Oregon, and expects to start in the fall of 2022. She hopes eventually to fly for the Nevada Department of Wildlife or Division of Forestry, or in some capacity connected with agriculture.
The memorial scholarship was established in 2013 by Norma Elizagoyen to memorialize the lives of her husband, Sauveur, and daughter, Julie, both private pilots who shared a passion for flying. Norma died shortly after establishing the scholarship.
PACE Coalition manages the scholarship. Scholarship recipients are chosen by a committee of flight instructors and a PACE representative.