WIA Honors Scholarship Winners, Fundraises By Selling Limited Edition Shuttle Pins
Women in Aerospace (WIA) will hold its awards dinner next week to honor women selected for its awards as well as the winners of two college scholarships sponsored by the Women in Aerospace Foundation. The Foundation is raising money for its scholarship fund by selling unique jewelry — limited edition pins designed by Ann Hand to commemorate space shuttle missions.
The winners of this year’s WIA Foundation scholarships are Erin M. Kirchmeier and Samantha B. Rawlins. Each receives a $2,000 scholarship for the 2013-2014 academic year. Kirchmeier is studying aerospace engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Rawlins is studying mechanical engineering at the University of California-Los Angeles. The Foundation awards two scholarships each year to encourage young women who are interested in a career in the aerospace field to pursue higher education degrees in engineering, science or math. It is accepting applications for the 2014 awards from now through February 3, 2014.
The Foundation is raising funds through sales of pins by renowned jewelry designer Ann Hand. She made one pin for each of the 135 space shuttle flights. WIA says that all proceeds from the sale of the pins benefit the WIA Foundation and part of the purchase price is tax deductible. An order form and a photograph of the pin is available on WIA’s website.
Kirchmeier and Rawlins will be honored along with the winners of seven awards at the WIA awards dinner on October 29, 2013 at the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City in Arlington, VA. The WIA award winners this year are:
- Aerospace Awareness Award: Michelle Thaller, Assistant Director of Science for Communications, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- Outstanding Achievement Award: Molly Brown, AST, Earth Science Remote Sensing, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- Aerospace Educator Award: Julie Burr, Coordinator for Work Based Learning and Career Readiness, Aviation High School. Burlen, Washington
- Initiative, Inspiration, Impact Award: Kristin Rozier, Research Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center
- Leadership Award: Catherine Steele, Vice President, Strategic Space Operations, the Aerospace Corporation
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Jean Chamberlain, Vice President of Program Management, Boeing Defense, Space & Security
- Outstanding Member Award: Sandy Coleman, Director, NASA Exploration Program, ATK Washington Operations
User Comments
SpacePolicyOnline.com has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate. We do not post comments that include links to other websites since we have no control over that content nor can we verify the security of such links.