40th District Legislators congratulate Washington Aerospace Scholars

OLYMPIA – The state legislators from the 40th district, Rep. Dave Quall, D-Mount Vernon, Rep. Jeff Morris, D-Mount Vernon,, and Sen. Harriet Spanel, D-Bellingham, wish to extend their congratulations to the outstanding students, who are among 225 talented juniors from across the state, who have been accepted into the first phase of Washington Aerospace Scholars (WAS).

The Washington Aerospace Scholars Program recently announced the names of the high school juniors in the 40th legislative district who were selected as Washington Aerospace Scholars for 2007-08:

Nick Burke—Squalicum High School
Margaret Landis—Sehome High School
Michael Lien—Mount Vernon High School
Drew Morrill—Squalicum High School
David Newsom—Anacortes High School
Chris Rowan—Burlington-Edison High School
Tim Spitzer—Sedro-Woolley High School
Chris Thorsvik—Bellingham High School
Zach Victor—Squalicum High School

“I am very excited about this program and I’m very proud of these students,” said Rep. Dave Quall, who chairs the House Education Committee. “This is precisely what we need to build a stronger education system in our state. With programs like these, students are motivated to take more math and science classes, which can then lead to all sorts of fulfilling careers in high-demand fields.”

The WAS program gives these students the opportunity to participate in hands-on engineering activities, tour facilities at Boeing, the University of Washington, Microsoft and Battelle and receive mentoring from astronauts, pilots, engineers and scientists. In a period of five months the scholars will complete ten lessons – submitting quizzes, math solutions, essays, and graphics. They will independently select a topic of interest for a final project and will also compete for a space in one of four summer residency sessions.

Rep. Morris praised the program and the students who have accepted the challenge for their dedication to one of Washington State’s most important industries. “Our state is one of the world’s great technological hubs for aeronautics,” said Morris. “Our industry has not only helped shape our economy, it’s helped shape our world. The Washington Aerospace Scholars program offers the tools the scientists and engineers of tomorrow need to shape the future for all of us and I’m very excited to see these local students rise to the challenge.”

The WAS program is a public-private-business partnership aimed at drawing highly capable science and math students into the aerospace field. The partnership includes the Governor's Office, the Washington Aerospace Scholars Foundation, The Museum of Flight, the Aldarra Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center, The Boeing Company, Avista, Microsoft, Battelle/Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, Washington legislators, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and other partners throughout the state. The program is based on a successful model launched in Texas by the NASA in 2000.

"These are outstanding students who are taking advantage of an opportunity to use their skills and learn more about the engineering and aerospace fields. It is a great way to introduce today's students to possible careers," said Sen. Harriet Spanel.

Gov. Chris Gregoire endorsed the Aerospace Scholars Program, which dovetails with her Washington Learns initiative by giving students hands-on experience in math and science.

In order to bolster that state’s math and science curricula, the House and Senate dedicated millions to after-school programs, scholarships for students enrolling in math and science higher education courses. Organizers of the Aerospace Scholars program hope that private-public partnerships like theirs can help entice more students into math and science fields.

Applications for the program are available at: www.museumofflight.org/washingtonaerospacescholars or by phoning (206) 764-5866. Applicants must be high school juniors, at least 16 years of age, Washington residents, and U.S. citizens. Participants are required to have access to the internet, and should have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. Complete applications must be postmarked November 9, 2007 and should be submitted to the WAS Coordinator at the Museum of Flight.

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