Avfuel Awards Four Scholarships to Aviation Enthusiasts

Avfuel Corporation recently provided four aviators with support to further their aviation education with a total of $5,000 in scholarship funds.

The fuel supplier’s 2022 scholarship class includes: Joshua Kryzsko, earning the AVTRIP Scholarship, and Tram Do, Gary-Dean Campbell and William Topp, each earning an Avfuel Pilot-in-Training Scholarship. This is in addition to six Sheltair and Avfuel: Future Takes Flight Scholarships totaling $30,000 in 2022. 

Kryzsko, 34, a large airtanker pilot from Livingston, Mont., will use the $2,000 AVTRIP Scholarship to obtain his Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) rating, a prerequisite for a U.S. Forest Service AKTP credential.

“The CFI is required to reach my goal as an aerial firefighter,” Kryzsko said. “In the next couple of years, I’d like to use my flying skills to teach upgrading captains to fight fire in an airtanker. It’s a challenging and amazing way to utilize your experience as a pilot.”

When he’s not at the controls, Kryzsko volunteers with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the Park County Fire Department and the National Aerial Firefighting Academy in Tucson, Ariz. He’s also working on a presentation to let students know an aviation career is achievable, even in a small town.

“I very much enjoy helping mentor young people towards aviation,” Kryzsko said.

Do, San Francisco, Calif., will use her $1,500 Avfuel Scholarship to continue her flight training. Having dreamed of being a pilot since childhood, Do is pursuing her private pilot certificate at San Jose State University (SJSU), with the ultimate goal of becoming an airline pilot. A passionate volunteer, she serves as vice president of the SJSU chapter of Women in Aviation, gives her time to fueling interest in the industry at aviation events, and to organizations working to alleviate food insecurity in her community.

“This scholarship will help me finance my flight training as a college student while finding more time to enhance my community whenever possible,” Do said.

Campbell, Tucson, Ariz, will use his $1,000 Avfuel Scholarship to pay for flight training. He first fell in love with flight as a child in Jamaica, but after receiving two degrees in aviation management Campbell realized he’d rather be in the cockpit than the C-suite. Having redirected his career path, Campbell will use his Avfuel Scholarship to pursue flight training full-time to reach his goal of becoming an airline pilot and hopes to help the next wave of young, diverse pilots chase their goals as well.

Topp, Marion, Ky., will use his $500 Avfuel Scholarship to continue his flight training. By age 5 he was determined to become a pilot, and at 17 enlisted in the U.S. Air Force to pursue his goal. While deployment and reassignments slowed his progress, Topp persevered and hopes to complete his private pilot license (PPL) training this spring. Topp aspires to fly for an aeromedical service or freight company such as FedEx or UPS and to be a mentor to future aviators.

2022 marked the 24th year Avfuel has supported aviators’ educational endeavors through the AVTRIP Scholarship, the 5th for the Avfuel Pilot-in-Training Scholarships and the first for the Sheltair & Avfuel: Future Takes Flight Scholarships. Applications for the Future Takes Flight Scholarship Program are now available at

Avfuel.com/Scholarships. Applications for the 2023 AVTRIP and Avfuel Pilot-in-Training Scholarships will be available on the site this spring.

“The Avfuel team couldn’t be more honored to support the future of aviation with an array of annual scholarship opportunities,” Marci Ammerman, vice president of marketing for Avfuel, said. “We congratulate the members of this year’s scholarship class who stood out among an incredibly strong applicant pool—that is no easy feat. Thank you to all of the applicants who boldly shared their unique experiences with Avfuel’s scholarship committee. Each year, we come away from the process feeling inspired by our applicants’ passion and with a renewed sense of aviation’s bright future.”

In addition to supporting the aviation industry’s future through these scholarship programs, Avfuel’s also committed to enriching communities by contributing to health research initiatives or novel health programs on an annual basis. 2022’s donation—made in honor of Avfuel’s customers, colleagues and friends this holiday season—benefits the University of Michigan’s Strong Roots initiative, funding facilitator training with the aim of reaching families in need of mental health support nationwide. Strong Roots seeks to stem the tide of a mounting mental health crisis for children through early intervention and prevention; its programs help families with educational resources that build children’s social-emotional capacity and strengthen family resilience.