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Training and Education Command

United States Marine Corps
Scholarship to send military children to NASA Space Camp

By Lance Cpl. Heather Golden | | February 09, 2006

MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- The Military Child Education Coalition is offering military children a memorial scholarship to a NASA Space Camp.

The scholarship was created in memory of Bernard Curtis Brown Jr., the 11-year-old son of Chief Petty Officer Bernard Curtis Brown Sr., who was on his way to represent his school at a National Geographic event when his plane was hijacked and flown into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

The scholarship sends recipients on an all-expenses-paid trip to the NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., where campers will spend five days experiencing what it is like to be an astronaut.

According to a press release, daily activities for students include scientific experiments, rocket building and launches, various training simulations and lectures on the past, present and future of space exploration.

Applicants for the scholarship must be children of active duty service members and enrolled in grades six through nine. Prospective campers are required to present a handwritten essay stating why they should be selected, two letters of recommendation from non-relatives and an application for submission. The essay, letters of recommendation and completed application must be received by the MCEC no later than April 3, 2006.

The MCEC will be judging applications not only on academic aptitude, but also by indication of patriotism, said Kathleen Facon, program specialist for Headquarters Marine Corps Family Readiness Branch.  According to the MCEC Web site, applications must reflect the students' future goals and what their "after camp intentions" are.

Committee members will also be looking for evidence of the students' dedication to helping mankind, such as community service activities.

The scholarship covers full tuition, including lodging, all meals, camp materials and transportation to and from the space camp for each child.
The exact number of scholarships awarded varies year-to-year as the scholarship is funded entirely by private donations.

According to Facon, the scholarship is meant to emphasize the importance of education and scholarly exploration.

"Space Camp uses space and aviation as a platform to excite and educate children in the fields of math, science and technology," Facon sites from the Space Camp mission.

"Teamwork, self-confidence and communication will be achieved through state-of-the-art simulations, missions, rocket-building and robotics."

For additional information regarding Space Camp, refer to the Space Camp Web site at http://www.spacecamp.com.  Potential space campers can obtain an application at MCEC's official Web site at http://www.militarychild.org/scholarship.asp.



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