ANSEP awarded two grants to help fund 2013 summer programs

The Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program is the recipient of two grants that will help fund summer programs for 2013.

Shell Exploration & Production Company (Alaska) has contributed $60,000 to support the 2013 Summer Bridge Program. Summer Bridge places recent high school graduates from across Alaska in science and engineering internship positions with Alaska's top companies and agencies. In addition to the internship, students enroll in a credited math course at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Combined, these experiences provide students the link between classroom and career while propelling them into leadership positions across the state.

The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation has awarded $160,000 for the 2013 Middle School Academy. ANSEP's Middle School Academy is the first step in a longitudinal string of components that extends from sixth grade through the Ph.D. level. During the course of the 12-day academy, students assemble a top-end PC, take field excursions and attend classes that include problem solving, research and communication skills incorporated with biology, chemistry, physics, environmental sciences, earth sciences, engineering and design concepts. Students earn the right to keep the computer they build by successfully completing Algebra 1 prior to graduation from 8th grade. Eighty-three percent of ANSEP Middle School Academy students achieve this milestone (compared to 26 percent nationally).

Participation in ANSEP components beginning in middle school or early in high school make it possible for any student in the state to earn the full Alaska Performance Scholarship.

To learn more about the Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program, visit ansep.net. For more information about the two awards listed in this announcement, please contact Jared Brandner at (907) 786-1077 or jdbradner@uaa.alaska.edu.