Four Mercer Island High School students have been selected to participate in the second phase of the Washington Aerospace Scholars (WAS) program. They are Nicholas Eriksson, Ren Jaecks, LC Chen and Leah Paborsky.

WAS is designed to connect high school juniors with educational and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through independent learning, hands-on interaction, professional guidance and site-based tours.

Phase two is a six-day experience held at Seattle’s Museum of Flight during three sessions throughout June and July. In each summer session, four student teams cooperate to plan a human mission to Mars with support from professional engineers/scientists, university students, and certificated educators. Additionally, participants receive briefings from aerospace professionals, tour local engineering facilities and compete in hands-on engineering challenges.

“Congratulations to our students on being selected to the next phase of this outstanding WAS program,” said Mercer Island School District Superintendent Dr. Gary Plano in a press release. “This will be a valuable summer experience for them.”

These students were among 266 who began by competing for a spot in one of the WAS Summer Residency sessions by completing 10 NASA and University of Washington designed lessons during phase one of the WAS program. Students were able to register to earn five UW credits based on successful completion of the curriculum.