DSU Aviation’s Penni Kimani receives Tuskegee Scholarship

Penina “Penni” Kimani, a junior (rising senior) aviation student, has received some much-needed financial help from a $3,500 scholarship from the Philadelphia Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen International.

Ms. Kimani, who is pursuing the Professional Pilot concentration, said the scholarship is timely because her senior aviation labs are more expensive than the previous ones she has had to complete. She said while scholarships and grants have covered the cost of her tuition and fees, her parents Nancy Mburu and Peter Njenga have paid for the labs.

“It is an immense amount of help,” she said.

A native of Kenya, Ms Kimani moved to the U.S. with her parents when she was age eight. Settling in Dover, she graduated from Dover High School in 2015.

She said becoming a pilot has been a long-held aspiration. Now that she is moving into her senior year (currently with a 3.5 GPA), her hopes have been greater.

“I want to be in the right seat (position of the first officer) of a jet at age 22,” she said. “My goal is to be at a major airline before I am age 30.”

The Tuskegee chapter will formally present the scholarship to Ms. Kimani at the Tuskegee chapter’s Spring Banquet on May 6 in Philadelphia. The organization has established the scholarship specifically for DSU aviation students. The past three DSU recipients have been Shavana Jones, Justin Thompson and DaeShawn Rose.