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Pearl I. Young Scholarship

Pearl I. Young

Pearl I. Young

The NDSGC established the prestigious Pearl I. Young Space Grant Award for a student at the University of North Dakota. This $2500 award honors the ideals of scholarship as exemplified by Pearl I. Young. Undergraduate and graduate students who meet the criteria below are encouraged to apply. Applicants will ideally be involved in a research project of NASA relevance.

Young grew up in North Dakota and attended school there. At age 11 she left home to work as a domestic to attend high school. After attending Jamestown College she transferred to the University of North Dakota. She graduated from UND in 1919 as a Phi Beta Kappa with a triple major in physics, mathematics, and chemistry. Despite her heavy course load, financial necessity dictated that Young work while pursuing her studies. She served as a laboratory assistant in the Physics Department and worked for the U.S. Weather Bureau. After graduation she taught physics for two years at UND. She then accepted an appointment at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia. She was hired as a technical employee, a physicist of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA); that agency later became NASA. She was also a physicist for the federal government. When Young died in 1968 her obituary noted that she had been a scientist, university professor, journalist, lecturer, author, and world traveler.

Funding

  • $2,500 per scholarship

Eligibility

The student:

  • must be enrolled at the University of North Dakota
  • must be a U.S. Citizen
  • must be in good academic standing
  • must demonstrate high levels of service to the STEM community through various engagements, programming, and/or research
  • must be pursuing a STEM or STEM Education degree

Nursing majors are ineligible for NDSGC scholarships, per NASA rules and regulations.

See NDSGC homepage for general eligibility and funding details.

Deadline

Applications open one month prior to deadline:

  • February 15th

How to Apply

Applications for NDSU's Lillian Goettler Scholarship and UND's Pearl I. Young Scholarship will be evaluated using the following criteria. Please review this information prior to submission, and feel free to share these details with your requested recommender.

  • Resume, including work and research experience, academic performance, and extracurricular and leadership activities
  • Letter of Recommendation, including academic and technical capabilities, student character, and attributes that make this student an ideal candidate
  • Essays addressing the following questions, each separate response consisting of 250-350 words:
    • In the context of your STEM community, reflect on a time when you faced a challenging decision that required skills or insights not typically taught in the classroom or workplace. What was the situation, and how did you navigate the obstacle? In hindsight, how could you have made a better decision, and what valuable lessons did you learn from the experience that have shaped your approach to problem-solving in STEM?
    • Letters of recommendations and transcripts are only part of your academic journey. Tell us about your future academic and professional plans and ways you want to be part of your professional community by sharing your academic and career goals, and why you should be a recipient of the scholarship.
    • No community is perfect, and systemic barriers can limit access to education and opportunity. Tell us of a time you overcame adversity in STEM. How do you want to ensure others don't have to overcome the same obstacles in the future?
    • In what specific ways have you already helped to break down barriers for individuals in STEM fields?
    • If a younger individual or family friend asked you if they should pursue a career in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM), what would you tell them?

Contact the NDSGC team with questions.

Apply Now!

Past Funding Recipients

Name Year Field
Haley Boles 2024 Space Studies
Jadyn Guidinger 2024 Chemical Engineering
Molly Rayhorn 2023 Electrical Engineering
Elizabeth Starosta 2023 Biomedical Engineering
Hope Burdolski 2022 Secondary Science Education
Elizabeth Mislan 2022 Uncrewed Aircraft Systems / Commercial Aviation
Sydney Menne 2021 Physics & Astrophysics / Mathematics
Michaela Neal 2020 Environmental Studies
Hannah Park 2020 Air Traffic Management / Airport Management
Emmelinne Miller 2019 Aeronautics / Air Traffic Management / UAS
Cristin Finnigan 2018 Space Studies
Sophie Orr 2017 Space Studies
Jennifer Grinsteiner 2016 Petroleum Engineering
Marika Diepenbroek 2015 Commercial Aviation / Mathematics
Janelle Hakala 2015 Atmospheric Sciences
Haylee Archer 2014 Physics
Heather Jacobson 2008 Chemical Engineering
Rebecca Bahnmiller 2006 Astrophysics
Mikayla Tafee 2005 Atmospheric Sciences
Lisa Maria Geschwill 2004 Mechanical Engineering
Candyce Hecker 2004 Mathematics
April Moore 2002 Chemical Engineering / Psychology
North Dakota NASA Space Grant Consortium
Clifford Hall Room 270
4149 University Avenue Stop 9008
Grand Forks, ND 58202-9008
P 701.777.6819
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North Dakota Space Grant Consortium

Clifford Hall, Room 270
4149 University Avenue, Stop 9008
Grand Forks, ND 58202-9008

701.777.6819

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