St. Paul student gets chance of a lifetime from NASA

Michael Sutherland, a junior at St. Paul High School has recently been notified of a wonderful opportunity. NASA Langley Research Center and the Virginia Space Grant Consortium informed Michael of his selection to participate in the Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars (VASTS) program.

Sutherland was chosen by a selection panel based on his outstanding academic record, essay composition and letter of recommendation. The applicant pool was very competitive and NASA commended Michael on being selected to this prestigious program. As a VASTS Scholar Sutherland is required to commit to the distance-learning component of the program, which includes ten lesson modules with reading and research assignments, quizzes, simulations, discussion forums, case studies, and a final project. Based upon successful completion of the online lessons, Michael will compete to have an opportunity to attend the all expense paid, seven-day residential Summer Academy at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Michael plans to pursue a career in computer science after attending a major university in the state of Virginia.  Michael is the son of Jennifer and Ernie Sutherland.