SEATTLE – The Museum of Flight’s Boeing Academy for STEM Learning awarded a total of $143,000 in scholarships to nine Seattle area high school students. Each of the nine students was the first to receive one of the Museum’s five new annual scholarships, made possible through generous endowments established by Jim and Sue Johnson, Alaska Airlines, Pacific Northwest Business Aviation Association, and the Estate of Frank “Sam” and Betty Houston. The scholarships were awarded at a reception at the Museum on June 11, where scholarship investors personally congratulated the recipients.
The Awards
The Jim and Sue Johnson Scholarship Award in the amount of $18,000 ($4,500 per year), to pursue post-secondary studies in a “STEM aviation or aerospace field” was awarded to Raisbeck Aviation High School graduate Dane Anders and home schooled student Brooklyn Cross from Puyallup, Wash. During the past two years, Anders participated in the Museum’s Aeronautical Science Pathway program, earning 55 college credits that he will apply toward a degree in Aviation Technical Management at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Cross has an Associate’s degree from Pierce College and will be attending Embry Riddle to earn a degree in Aeronautical Engineering.
Scarlett Stelzer, Alexandra Reyes, Anthony Bui and Gada Ahmed were each presented with the Frank and Betty Houston Flight Training Scholarship. The $10,000 scholarship was established for students who want to become professional pilots. Stelzer and Reyes will be seniors in the Auburn School District next school year and are enrolled in the Museum’s Aeronautical Science Pathway (ASP) program. Bui is in the Seattle School District. He has participated in the Museum’s Michael P. Anderson Memorial Aerospace Program and will be enrolled in the ASP program for the next two years. Ahmed is a graduate of Franklin High School in the Seattle School District and was enrolled in the ASP program during the past year.
Hunter Whitlock and Matthew Yamashita were each presented with the $4,500 Alaska Airlines Flight Training Scholarship, in honor of former Alaska Airlines President/CEO Bill Ayer, to pursue advanced flight ratings. Whitlock, a 2018 graduate of Raisbeck Aviation High School, will attend Embry Riddle Aeronautical University to pursue a degree in Aeronautical Science. Whitlock earned 60 college credits through the Museum’s ASP program, putting him on a fast track to graduate early and become a Certified Flight Instructor. Yamashita will be a senior in the Auburn School District next school year; he plans to use his scholarship to pursue a seaplane pilot rating.
Gada Ahmed was presented with the Frank and Betty Houston Post-Secondary STEM Education Scholarship in the amount of $14,000 annually for a total of $56,000 to pursue a degree that will prepare him for a career in aviation or aerospace. Ahmed will attend the University of Washington to study Aeronautical Engineering.
Hunter Whitlock and Sameer Romani were each presented with the Pacific Northwest Business Aviation Association Scholarship in the amount of $1,000 to pursue post-secondary studies that include aviation business and marketing. Romani is from Puyallup, Wash., and is a 2018 graduate of Raisbeck Aviation High School. He will attend the University of North Dakota this fall to pursue studies in Aviation Business and Management.
The only common scholarship requirements are that each of the recipients participate in one or more of the Museum’s Academy programs and that they have clear intentions to pursue a pathway that is connected to aviation or aerospace. Applications for 2019 scholarships will be accepted later this year and awarded in spring 2019. Details can be found on the Museum’s website.
Image: Recipients of the Museum of Flight Boeing Academy for STEM Learning 2018 scholarships pose with their certificates at a ceremony at the Museum on June 11, 2018.
The Boeing Academy for STEM Learning
The Boeing Academy for STEM Learning at the Museum of Flight is the largest educational department among air and space museums worldwide. The Academy offers a wide variety of unique programs to educators and students in grades K-12 and college. Students may engage in a flight, engineering, and/or space pathway and ultimately earn an education credential that recognizes their achievements and commitment to pursuing a STEM career.
For general Museum information, please call 206-764-5720 or visit www.museumofflight.org
