Announcing the 2020 Goddard Dinner Keynote Scholarship Winner
The National Space Club & Foundation proudly announces after a nation-wide search that Ms. Helen Buchanan has won the National Space Club & Foundation Keynote Scholarship, securing her role as the keynote speaker during the Club’s 63rd Annual Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner on Friday, March 20, 2020 at the Washington Hilton.
Ms. Buchanan is a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley, studying Planetary Science. Growing up she had her head in the stars and her feet on the earth, being fascinated by both rocks and space. Her passion for science was fueled by homeschooling where she had the opportunity to travel to national parks to learn about the local geology and observe the night sky. She found new interests in high school that helped develop her leadership skills; including teaching ballet to teens and pre-schoolers. She was active in Girl Scouts and 4-H, serving as 4-H president her final year. Among her achievements, she received the Gold Award, the highest rank in Girl Scouts, for a project she developed that taught children the importance of honeybees.
After completing all the science courses that were offered at her High School, she re-discovered her love for rocks and space through a community college astronomy class that inspired her to pursue her past dreams of Planetary Science. As a freshman at UC Berkeley, she joined her department’s Geology club, attended her first American Geophysical Union Conference in San Francisco, and was invited to pursue research in the Earth and Planetary Sciences. She dreams of being an astronaut and of sharing her love of rocks and space with new generations in hopes of inspiring them to preserve this tiny blue dot we live on.
The Space Club is devoted to fostering excellence in space activity through interaction between industry and government, and through a continuing program of educational support. The National Space Club & Foundation Keynote Scholarship was created in 2012 and is provided to a high school senior, undergraduate or graduate student with the intention to pursue a career in STEM fields. Applicants were required to complete an online application and submit a video on why he or she is inspired by space, with finalists undergoing live remarks and interviews. In addition to serving as the dinner keynote speaker at the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner, Ms. Buchanan will receive a $10,000 scholarship.
The Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner is the major event of the Washington space calendar. First celebrated in 1958, it is held each year near the anniversary of the first successful flight by Dr. Goddard of a liquid-fueled rocket. The dinner brings together nearly 2,000 members of the government, industry and educational space community and is considered the industry’s premier gathering of space professionals. In addition to the Keynote Scholarship, the Club presents several awards at the dinner to a number of outstanding individuals for accomplishments in spaceflight, engineering, science, management and education. The premier award, the Goddard Trophy, is presented to the individual, group or program deemed to have made the most significant contribution to U.S. leadership in rocketry and astronautics either as a lifetime of achievement or in the previous calendar year.
Individuals and organizations interested in attending the 63rd Annual Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner on Friday, March 20, 2020 at the Washington Hilton, may find more information on our website www.spaceclub.org. For specific questions, please contact the Space Club at info@spaceclub.org or by calling 202-547-0060.
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The National Space Club and Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization devoted to fostering excellence in space activity through interaction between industry and government, and through a continuing program of educational support. Youth Education is a premier focus of the Club, providing over $160,000 in scholarships and internships each year. Awards are offered to recognize outstanding accomplishments in spaceflight, engineering, science, management, and education.
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