Perfect Circle: How a Star Awards Scholar Found Her People — and New Ways to Give Back — at GE Aerospace

Seventy-five students received a one-time scholarship this week from GE Aerospace’s Star Awards program to support their higher education. The program has been a shining light for GE Aerospace families for decades, and for one GE Aerospace leader, its impact has come full circle. 

In 2000, the year Asha Belarski graduated from Fairfield High School, north of Cincinnati, NSYNC was all the rage, The Perfect Storm was a hit in cinemas, and, she recalls with a smile, college applications were still submitted on paper. 

Belarski filled hers out with diligence, focusing on schools with strong engineering programs. She was also interested in scholarships, including one offered by the GE Foundation. Her dad, Suresh Kamat, was a life management engineer at the company, where he worked on the longevity of engine parts. He brought home application forms for the Star Awards, merit-based scholarships open to the families of qualified employees around the world that offer financial support for first-year college students. Kamat was proud when his daughter chose to enroll at the University of Pittsburgh — and when she was named a Star Awards scholar. 

“I think my parents still have the print newsletter that announced the winners, with each student’s picture and a blurb about them,” she says. 

In those days, neither father nor daughter dreamed Asha would go on to build a 20-plus-year career at GE Aerospace in Cincinnati, where she’s currently general manager of customer support and sustainment in Defense and Systems. Or that she’d one day sit on the board of the GE Aerospace Foundation, the independent charitable organization that funds the Star Awards to this day. 

“Having an employer that invests not just in you but potentially in your family is a powerful thing,” Belarski says. “It’s not something transactional. It’s building a legacy.” 

The next generation of stars aren’t just born, after all. They’re created with support from the people around them.

Finding a Career Path — and Her People 

When Belarski headed for college, she wasn’t planning to work with jet engines. She studied civil engineering and simply hoped to use her skills creatively, in work that allowed her to “build things” and solve challenging problems. It took just one internship at GE Aerospace during college to remind her that a job there could tick all those boxes. The clincher? She felt right at home in the company’s culture. 

“My dad worked with a group at GE Aerospace that was very close,” she explains, “so I met a lot of his co-workers as a kid.” The families got together socially, and each year Asha joined her father and some of his work friends for a local fundraiser walk in Cincinnati. 

She noticed early on that these grown-ups “were high-quality, hardworking, upstanding people,” she says. “When I came to GE Aerospace as an intern, I saw that again.” 

After graduating from Pitt in 2004, she joined GE Aerospace’s Edison Engineering Development Program, which helped her build leadership skills while gaining experience in various engineering and operations roles. At the same time, with the company’s support, she earned a master’s in mechanical engineering at the University of Cincinnati. 

In 2007, Belarski accepted a position as a process engineer and supervisor at the CFM Engine* Assembly Shop at the company’s headquarters in Evendale. In the intervening years she’s worked on the commercial and defense sides of the business, leading teams in quality assurance, manufacturing, engine delivery, and maintenance program efficiency before taking on her current Defense division role in 2023. 

Completing the Circle of Giving

Following on her early community service experiences, Belarski has continued to make volunteering a priority. She’s tutored students, tended community gardens, and — for 12 years, even before she had two daughters of her own — served as co-leader of a Girl Scout troop in Cincinnati. 

Her passion for helping others was eventually noticed by Amy Gowder, president and CEO of Defense and Systems at GE Aerospace, who nominated Belarski for a seat on the GE Aerospace Foundation’s board when the organization, formerly known as the GE Foundation, relaunched in May 2024. As a board member, Belarski helps guide its efforts to fund engineering education, workforce development, and disaster relief programs, along with employee matching gifts programs. 

“The company’s culture of giving back to the community, and encouraging us to give back to each other as employees, is something I truly stay at GE Aerospace for,” Belarski says. “I never in a million years thought I would have the opportunity to participate in it on a broader level.” 

Belarski is pleased with how the company and the Foundation have sharpened their focus on projects directly related to the aerospace business. It provided aid for people in Asheville, North Carolina, where GE Aerospace has a large facility, in the wake of Hurricane Helene in 2024, for instance. It’s also increasing its commitment to veterans, a group well represented within the company and its customer base. 

“This has made its work more tangible,” Belarski says. “People reach out to me all the time with questions and thoughts about it. They feel they can share their ideas, and that’s powerful.” 

Of course, she remains an advocate for the Star Awards program, which since 1984 has provided more than 15,000 awards for a total of $21 million worldwide. In her view, the scholarships do more than help young people achieve their dreams; they can also inspire new generations to embrace the culture of philanthropy. 

“The spirit of giving back comes to people in all different forms, from family, their culture, the local community, or the workplace,” she says. “I think when you have received something, like a scholarship, you feel the need to pay it forward. We are creating a circle.” 

*CFM International is a 50-50 joint company between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines.