Press Release

Hughes Helps Westchester High School `Comets’ Soar Onto the Internet

By SpaceRef Editor
March 27, 2000
Filed under

Hughes Space
and Communications Company (HSC), the business leader in the
Collaborative Partnership for Westchester High School, today announced
plans to assist the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) in
establishing a computer center in the high school library.

The computers will be presented to the students during a rollout
ceremony on Wednesday, March 29 at 2 p.m. in the school library,
located at 7400 Manchester Blvd., Westchester, Calif.

HSC, in conjunction with co-partner Loyola Marymount University
(LMU), has arranged for the donation of 20 computers from Compaq
Computer Corp. HSC is providing installation and network support.

“It is simply the right thing to do,” stated HSC President and CEO
Tig H. Krekel, who first learned of the lack of student computers
during a visit to the high school earlier this year.

“These young people are the future engineers, scientists and
leaders of tomorrow. We need to make sure they have the basic tools of
education in the 21st century. HSC is pleased to help and looks
forward to building our partnership with students and schools in our
community,” Krekel added.

Among students participating in the ceremony will be those who are
involved in the Congressional Awards Program, the highest honor
bestowed by the U.S. Congress on young people. HSC and LMU are
providing mentors to assist students in establishing and reaching
their goals to achieve this honor.

“Earlier this month, we were honored to have His Royal Highness
The Prince Philip visit our campus to encourage our students to join
the Congressional Awards Program,” stated Los Angeles Board of
Education member Valerie Fields, who was responsible for the
introduction of the Congressional Awards Program to the Los Angeles
Unified School District.

“Now, thanks to the generosity of Hughes Space and Communications
and Compaq Computers, our students literally will have the world at
their fingertips. It is critical for our young people to know they
have the support of the community and business,” she added.

The Collaborative Partnership, first established in 1993, is
dedicated to bringing community resources to support Westchester High
School, with an emphasis on math, science and technology.

Under the agreement, HSC and LMU provide the students of
Westchester with tutoring, mentoring, a hands-on satellite project,
and summer job opportunities, as well as a four-year LMU Engineering
scholarship to qualifying students, paid in full by Hughes.

Compaq Computer Corp. is the largest supplier of computing systems
in the world.

Compaq designs, develops, manufactures and markets hardware,
software, solutions and services, including industry-leading
enterprise computing solutions, fault-tolerant business-critical
solutions, and communications products, commercial desktop and
portable products, and consumer PCs.

HSC is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial
communications satellites, having built nearly 40 percent of those
operating worldwide. It also supplies spacecraft for communications
and space exploration to the U.S. government, and builds weather
satellites for the United States and Japan. HSC is a unit of Hughes
Electronics Corp. The earnings of Hughes Electronics, a unit of
General Motors, are used to calculate the earnings per share
attributable to the General Motors Class H common stock.
Visit the Hughes Electronics website at http://www.hughes.com.

SpaceRef staff editor.