Okanagan College student Harmeet Garg was honoured with the prestigious Webster Trophy as Canada's top general aviation pilot earlier this year.
Photo Credit: ContributedHarmeet Garg (in white, third from right) is presented with his Webster Trophy.
An international student from Bathinda, India, Garg is in the final year of his Commercial Aviation Diploma at OC. The program graduates close to 20 new pilots into the aviation industry every year, thanks to a partnership between OC, the Southern Interior Flight Centre, the Kelowna International Airport and members of the airline industry.
"This award is motivation to work even harder towards my career and achieve higher feats,” Garg said. “As I am nearing graduation from OC, I’m looking towards future job opportunities in aviation and the specific line of flying I want to go into. There are so many options thanks to my education and training, and I’m very excited.”
The Commercial Aviation Diploma program prepares graduates for careers as pilots with charter companies, regional carriers, private companies or major airlines. Courses and hands-on flying experience take place at the airport, while virtual flying lessons take place in the Redbird Simulator, located at OC's Kelowna campus.
"Harmeet is an exceptional student and for him to win this prestigious Webster Trophy Competition is a credit to him and to the instructors at the Southern Interior Flight Centre,” said the President of OC, Neil Fassina. “This is what we strive for at Okanagan College – partnerships that provide students with the right learning opportunities so they can enter the workforce. We are training a new generation of professionals across OC, through online and in-class instruction and experiential learning with industry partners.”
Oc also offers a Commercial Helicopters Pilot Certificate in another partnership with Okanagan Mountain Helicopters.
Garg topped six finalists from across Canada to win the long-running Webster Memorial Trophy Competition, with the finals being held at the Southern Interior Flight Centre in Kelowna this summer. The competition has been held annually since its inception in 1932.
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