Alison Linares Mendoza earned a Vertical Flight Foundation scholarship

Alison Linares Mendoza, an industrial engineering student, earned the Franklin D. Harris Scholarship. This honor makes her the first woman from the University to receive a scholarship from the Vertical Flight Foundation.

The junior in Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering attributed the accomplishment to her internship and part-time job for Boeing Defense, Space and Security; Mendoza worked on both the V22 and Chinook programs in the vertical lift sector. She also credited Pitt’s industrial engineering program, which equips engineers with versatile skills to prepare them for the career of their choice, in her case, the aeronautical sector.

Mendoza is among 22 engineering students worldwide to earn funding totaling $100,000. She will be recognized as part of the VFS Grand Awards program on Thursday, May 18.