Ben Eielson Junior/Senior High School, located on Alaska’s Eielson Air Force Base, is the grand-prize winner of the fifth annual Follett Challenge.
The school, part of Fairbanks North Star Borough School District and named after famous aviator, Carl Ben Eielson, earns a $60,000 prize in Follett products and services, plus a celebration May 6 at their school.
The school’s winning entry, “Aiming High at Eielson” documents how the students, many of whom are children of military personnel stationed at the base, participate in a STEM pilot program that gives them the opportunity to work with and learn from U.S. Air Force personnel.
Students in grades 7-8 are provided with specialized career training aligning with STEM lessons being taught in class. They have the opportunity to learn about aircraft maintenance on fighter jets, intern at the medical and dental clinic on base, work at the base fire station or pharmacy, shadow builders on construction sites, and do pre-apprenticeship at the two elementary schools on base.
For more information on the Follett Challenge, visit www.follettchallenge.com.
