About the Scholarship

The Colleen Deininger Aviation Scholarship was established in January 2022 by her children, Calla Ricciardi and Curt Deininger. The scholarship was established in her memory to help other women learn to fly, in Colleen’s honor. Colleen’s children provided the following information about their mother:

Colleen Deininger was a dedicated wife, mother, pilot, businesswoman, women’s rights activist, teacher, and golfer. Anything she did, she set out to be the best she could be. Above all, she was fair, hardworking, and loved her family. She started her own real estate company in 1975 and advocated for women’s rights throughout her lifetime. She dreamed about becoming a pilot and in 1994, she achieved that goal. Flying was her passion; she participated in the Angel Flight Volunteer Network helping transport sick passengers to medical appointments, she was always ready and willing to fly her friends and family where they wanted to go, and she had accumulated over 4,800 flight hours at the time of her passing. She tragically passed away in a plane accident in 2018.

Eligibility

The Colleen Deininger Aviation Scholarship awards a scholarship(s) to a female student(s) residing in the Wisconsin counties of Kenosha, Marathon or Green, who is:

• A high school senior who plans to attend a two-year or four-year college or university, pursuing a degree at an accredited institution, or

• Is a student currently enrolled at an accredited four-year college or university or at a two-year technical school, and

• Is pursuing a degree (major or minor) in an aviation-related field of study.

Selection

Recipients are selected each spring.

NOTE: The Kenosha Community Foundation will announce when applications for the scholarship are available and the date they are due.

For more information about this and other scholarships managed by the Kenosha Community Foundation, contact
scholarships@kenoshafoundation.org.