[Satellite TODAY 05-28-13] Raytheon has awarded $300,000 in scholarships and grants to middle school students and their schools as part of its MathMovesU program, an initiative designed to engage middle school students in math and science.

 

    Each of the 150 middle school students selected from across the United States will receive a $1,000 scholarship to be used for a math, science or technology camp or program; or it can also be saved for the first year of college. Additionally, each recipient’s school will receive a matching grant from Raytheon.

 

    "Motivating students to study math and science early in their academic careers is important to ensuring they continue on to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering or math," said Pamela Erickson, Raytheon’s vice president of community relations.

 

   The scholarship recipients were selected from a pool of 6th, 7th and 8th grade student applicants who created a multimedia presentation that illustrates the importance of math in the mission to Mars and space exploration. Student submissions were evaluated on creativity, originality, time commitment and the use of math equations to demonstrate an enthusiasm for math and space exploration.