Military child earns MCEC scholarship

  • Published
  • By Airman Armando A. Schwier-Morales
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  Fulfilling a childhood dream, 12 year-old Matthew Doyle Lee joined 14 military children in Huntsville, Ala., to attend NASA's Space Camp.

McConnell's Matthew Lee, son of Elizabeth Lee, 22nd Force Support Squadron coordinator of family services, and Senior Master Sgt. John Lee, 22nd Operational Support Squadron tower chief controller, received the Bernard Curtis Brown II Memorial NASA Space Camp Scholarship. He departed for Space Camp June 20.

The scholarship is sponsored by the Military Child Education Coalition in honor of Bernard Curtis Brown II. Bernard was the 11-year-old son of U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Bernard Curtis Brown and Sinita Brown and was killed on a hijacked airliner Sept. 11, 2001.

This scholarship has been awarded to military children annually since 2002. In order to receive the award, nominees must be enrolled in grades 6 through 9 , submit a hand-written essay which includes why they should be selected, evidence of their patriotism and list their future goals. Eligible candidates must be a child of an active-duty, Guard or Reservist parent and provide two letters of recommendation.

The scholarship was awarded to 15 individuals out of 123 candidates to develop the future generation.

"The overall goal of the scholarship is to make sure that young people from all five services have a life-changing experience and that they learn and generate some interest in future space operations or becoming a military pilot," said retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Donald W. Jones, MCEC board member.

Matthew, 12, took it upon himself to complete the necessary requirement prior to the deadline.

"I am thrilled, [getting the scholarship] shows how smart he is and motivated he is to accomplish a goal," said Mrs. Lee. "Matthew is very goal oriented, once he sets a goal he does whatever it takes to work towards it."

For example, she said Matthew wanted a laptop; he saved money for months to buy one. Also, he set his mind to solving the Rubik's Cube, currently he can solve it in 1 minute 30 seconds.

"[Solving the cube] is something that I said 'you know what, I am going to learn how to do that' so I learned everything I needed, to learn, and now I can solve it," said Matthew.

Mrs. Lee said Matthew will use his inner drive to excel in Space Camp.

Sergeant Lee also echoes the enthusiasm and excitement that Matthew's mother has for their son's opportunity.

"Matthew worked very hard on his essay and I couldn't be more proud of him," said Sergeant Lee. "He has always been fascinated with space and engineering so I think it's fantastic that he is able to see his hard work pay off while exploring his interests in such a unique learning environment."

Another of Matthew's strong points is his mathematics. He recently scored a 100 percent on a state mathematics assessment. Also, he is involved in Project Lead the Way and Gateway to Technology, both programs emphasize the engineering field. Matthew said he'll put the knowledge he has gained and the skills he has learned to good use at camp.

"I hope to have fun and learn about space and aeronautical engineering," said Matthew. "Also, I had gone to [Space Camp] for two days as a school field trip but we had a lot of people and not enough time, so I didn't get to do everything I wanted. Now I will get to do a lot more since I have more time."