Space Camp Scholarships Go To Three Redwood City Students Thanks To Fish & Richardson

Fish & Richardson announced today that full scholarships have been awarded to three Redwood City middle school students – Roy Diaz Lopez, Sosiua Lavulo, and Julissa Munguia Hernandez – to attend the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama this summer. The goal of Fish’s Space Camp Scholarship program – which the firm has run for 19 consecutive years – is to get middle school students excited about the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Fish launched the Space Camp Scholarship program in 1999 and has since sent almost 500 students to Space Camp on full scholarships.

Fish attorneys, including Michael Headley and Alana Mannigé who lead the program in Silicon Valley, select the scholarship winners based on a written application and an in-person interview. Each year, Fish sends 33 students – from economically disadvantaged areas in the 11 cities across the country where the firm has offices – along with teacher chaperones to Space Camp. In Silicon Valley, the students were selected from Selby Lane School, which strives to empower and challenge all students to achieve educational excellence. The scholarship winners – who receive full tuition, round-trip airfare, and accommodations – will spend six days at Space Camp experiencing simulated space shuttle missions, participating in programs on space exploration, and learning about mission control.

“We are very proud of this program and the work we’ve been doing for nearly 20 years to foster young people’s interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM),” said Michael Headley, Managing Principal of Fish’s Silicon Valley office. “Students who focus their studies in the STEM fields will be leading the next generation of innovators in developing new technologies that drive our economy. Nurturing their interests now is an investment in our future, and we will continue to do everything we can to inspire more students to explore STEM careers.”

After the students return from Space Camp, many of them meet with the attorneys from Fish to “report on their mission” and share their experiences as junior astronauts. It is also an opportunity for the attorneys to encourage the students to continue exploring STEM and to excel in their studies when they return to school in the fall.