Nick Long and Phillip Whiting, students at A-B Tech, have been each awarded a $2,500 scholarship from the North Carolina Space Grant, a member in a national network of university-based consortia.
Long and Whiting are also both recipients of scholarships funded by the National Science Foundation through its Scholarships in STEM Program (S-STEM) at A-B Tech. The project – called Ignite Inspiration and Innovation, or I3 for short – provides opportunities to positively influence the next generation of STEM scholars, by offering scholarships to students who show academic promise and have an unmet financial need.
The NC Space Grant is a consortium of academic institutions that have gathered together to promote, develop, and support aeronautics and space-related science, engineering, and technology education and training in North Carolina. Partnering with NASA, industry, non-profit organizations, and state government agencies, NC Space Grant conducts programs that are designed to equip the current and future aero/space workforce in North Carolina.
Long, an Associate in Engineering student plans to transfer to UNC Asheville after graduation to study mechatronics. “I heard about A-B Tech’s new program and knew it was a good economically viable way to go about getting my degree. I would like to work in automation in commercial manufacturing,” he said.
Whiting, a veteran of the U.S. Marines, is also a peer tutor in mathematics at A-B Tech and a work-study student in college’s greenhouse. He plans to study biomedical engineering. He is currently working to earn an Associate in Engineering and in Science while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. “When I got out of the Marine Corps, my wife and I were looking around for a place to settle down and we were drawn to the mountains. I am trying to improve my station in life,” he said.
