Last week, the organization announced that for 2011, the value of the scholarships to be offered to the 146 colleges, universities, corporations, and associations throughout the US will total $15 million, a considerable increase compared to one year ago.
“In these tough economic times, scholarships mean more than ever,” said Gina Triolo, FIRST alumna and computer science major at Princeton University.
FIRST will use the money to support and encourage the projects developed by students across the nation. Last weekend, the Los Angeles FIRST Robotics Competition, witnessed the attendance of 63 high school teams from an area that spans from California to Chile.
As some of you might already know, the FIRST scholarships are available for all those who are taking part in either the Robotics Competition or Tech Challenge. The importance of the FIRST scholarships and the projects developed under its guidance has grown over the past decades. This year's Robotics finals, which will be held starting April 27 in St. Louis, will witness a competition between 51,000 students from more than 2,000 teams.
“Collectively our FIRST scholarship recipients have proven to be incredible contributors to the colleges and universities they attend, the corporations where they intern and ultimately gain employment, and to FIRST as alums carrying our message that the pursuit of science and technology careers is paramount to workforce development in the 21st Century,” noted Jon Dudas, FIRST president.
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