(Photo of Kolt Codner from the CCBC Foundation and Julie Kolat provided with the release)
(Monaca, PA) The CCBC Foundation announced a new scholarship endowed by the Kolat family in memory of Matthew who passed away in January 2022. The Matthew and Julie Kolat Professional Pilot Scholarship will support professional pilot students who demonstrate passion and determination in the pursuit of the piloting profession.
The initial endowment contribution is $10,000 and professional pilot major Cassandra Henry of Monaca, Pennsylvania, received the first $500 award for the fall semester.
Both proud veterans of the U.S. Air Force, Matthew and his wife Julie attended CCBC’s professional pilot program at the James M. Johnson School of Aviation Sciences, located at the Beaver County Airport in Chippewa Township. He formerly worked for Delta Airlines as an avionics technician.
“This year has had many challenges and many wins for me,” explained Julie Kolat. “Losing Matthew is the most difficult thing that I have had to deal with in my life. For my first birthday without him, I wanted to do something memorable for him and myself.”
CCBC will award the Matthew and Julie Kolat Professional Pilot Scholarship annually to one second-year student enrolled in the CCBC Professional Pilot associate degree program.
“I know how very much Matt loved flying and his passion for being in the blue skies away from everything, so I wanted to celebrate my birthday this year and every year with this scholarship. Matthew and I are incredibly happy to be sharing and helping fellow aviators realize their dreams.”
Today, CCBC’s James M. Johnson School of Aviation Sciences has a national reputation for its high quality and lofty standards. Named consecutively by American Airlines as a top innovative aviation the College’s globally known Aviation programs have placed an air-traffic controller in every tower in the country and a professional pilot behind the cockpit with every major airline in the United States.
Each student who graduates from CCBC’s professional pilot program obtains a minimum of a commercial pilot certificate with a multi-engine land and instrument rating and receives instruction from one of the College’s approved fixed-based operators. The average student earns these flight certifications in approximately 250 hours of flight time.

To learn more about other scholarship opportunities or apply:
https://www.ccbcfoundation.org/scholarships
To learn more about how to donate to this new endowment:
www.ccbcfoundation.org/donate