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Sean Liphard

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Seven Virgin Islands Students Headed to Space Camp

Thanks to CFVI and RapierMed

U.S. Virgin Islands, April 24, 2025 — Seven exceptional high school students from across the Virgin Islands have been awarded full scholarships to attend Space Camp 2025 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

The scholarships, funded by the Kym’s Kids Caribbean Agency Fund at the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) in partnership with RapierMed, LLC, cover all expenses—including travel, lodging, and personalized Space Camp flight suits.

The 2025 scholarship recipients are:

• Naitik Jhanwar (All Saints Cathedral School)
• Tiera J'Nai Polanco (St. Croix Educational Complex High School)
• Sumyah Mark (Charlotte Amalie High School)
• Colum Morgan (St. Croix Educational Complex High School)
• Seamus Henry O'Donnell (Gifft Hill School)
• Kali Calhoun (Ivanna Eudora Kean High School)
• Anais Craig (Gifft Hill School)

“Dr. George Rapier, our team, and I are proud to support seven of the brightest young minds from St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John with full scholarships to attend NASA Space Camp,” said Trey Goldsmith, Member and General Counsel of RapierMed, LLC. “This program fuels curiosity and inspires future innovators.”

Space Camp offers students hands-on astronaut training, mission simulations, and team-building in a world-class technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) environment. Since 1982, over 700,000 participants from all 50 states, U.S. territories, and 150+ countries have attended.

“We are launching more than just dreams—we’re launching futures,” said CFVI President Dee Baecher-Brown. “We’re grateful to Kym Rapier and RapierMed for making this possible.”

To learn more about establishing a scholarship fund or supporting U.S. Virgin Islands students through CFVI’s scholarship programs, visit https://cfvi.net/Scholarships or contact general.info@cfvi.net.

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About the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands

Since 1990, CFVI has been a catalyst for positive change in the territory through initiatives committed to youth, learning, family support and the environment. With a professional staff and a volunteer Board of Directors composed of community leaders, CFVI is a trusted advocate and supporter of programs that ensure opportunity and sustainability for current and future generations. CFVI is a registered non-profit organization entirely supported by individual donors, grants, trusts, corporate donations and estate planning. For more information, visit cfvi.net.

About the U.S. Space & Rocket Center:

Home to Space Camp®, Aviation Challenge® Camp, Space Camp Robotics, and U.S. Cyber Camp the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC) is the most comprehensive U.S. manned spaceflight hardware museum in the world. From a model of America’s first satellite, Explorer I, to next generation space vehicles like Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser, the museum showcases the past, present and future of human spaceflight. The U.S. Space & Rocket Center serves as the Official NASA Visitor Center for Marshall Space Flight Center and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.

Photos credit: U.S. Space and Rocket Center