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| September 2024 |

Montana Learning Center Awards Prestigious Founders’ Scholarship to Inspiring STEM Leader

CANYON FERRY LAKE, MT — The Montana Learning Center (MLC) is proud to announce that Trinidy Boyce has been awarded the prestigious MLC Founders’ Scholarship. Boyce, currently a sophomore at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona, is pursuing a major in aerospace engineering with a focus on space exploration, satellites, and rocketry. She is also earning a minor in propulsion, with ambitions to contribute to NASA or SpaceX’s mission of space exploration.

The $5,000 MLC Founders’ Scholarship, generously supported by Merrilee Alexander Kick, the Helena entrepreneur behind BuzzBallz cocktails, honors outstanding MLC students. Candidates are recognized for their critical thinking, passion for STEM, and leadership qualities, as well as their potential to create innovative ideas that can positively impact the world.

Kick established the scholarship in honor of her parents, Gil and Marilyn Alexander, award-winning science educators who founded the precursor to MLC, the Montana Science Institute, in the mid-1980s. The Alexanders’ work earned them national recognition, including from two U.S. Presidents and the Christa McAuliffe “Teacher in Space Fellowship.”

Boyce’s journey with MLC began in 2017 as a seventh-grader. She returned each summer, becoming a Scholar in 2022. Her participation in the Montana Aerospace Scholars (MAS) program, an initiative developed by MLC in partnership with NASA, proved pivotal in setting her on her current academic path. Through MAS, Boyce earned opportunities to visit Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where she decided to pursue her aerospace engineering degree.

“Participating in the MAS program set me on the path to aerospace engineering,” said Boyce. “Without the MLC, I wouldn’t be at Embry-Riddle. I cannot thank the MLC and its supporters enough for all they’ve done to shape my future.”

Ryan Hannahoe, executive director of MLC, praised Boyce’s achievements: “Trinidy has been an invaluable part of the MLC community for years. We are thrilled to see her receive this well-deserved honor and look forward to continuing to support her as she pursues her dreams.”

The MLC Founders’ Scholarship will be presented at the annual fundraiser, An Evening Under the Stars, on Sept. 28. For event details, please visit the event page or contact Executive Director Ryan Hannahoe at MontanaLearningCenter@gmail.com.

About the Montana Learning Center

The Montana Learning Center at Canyon Ferry Lake offers youth STEM summer camps, teacher professional development, and the region’s premier astronomy program, which features Montana’s largest public-use telescope. In partnership with Montana State University, the MLC also facilitates NASA’s Northwest Earth & Space Science Pathways program to enhance aerospace education in Montana.