nLight Corp. has awarded the first Mentoring Advanced Placement Program (MAP) scholarship to Christopher Liu, a junior at Mountain View High School.
MAP is a partnership between nLight, local businesses, Educational Service District 112, the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council and local school districts. MAP started during the 2005-2006 school year with seven mentors from nLight and seven high school AP physics teachers from the Camas, Evergreen, Vancouver and Washougal School Districts. For the 2006-2007 school year, MAP is expected to have twenty-four mentors.
Liu has taken 13 advanced placement classes and 10 honors courses in his three years of high school. He has participated in a variety of school activities including the National Honor Society and the science Olympiad. He was selected as a semi-finalist for the 2006 U.S. Physics team and placed first in the region in the AAPT 2005 Physics Bowl.
Mr. Liu will use his $1,500 scholarship towards his college tuition next fall. The scholarship was awarded on the basis of the student’s participation in MAP, academic performance and completion of the Advanced Placement Program exam.
nLight started the MAP program in 2005 with the mission to help students develop a clearer vision of their future, develop potential career options and strategies for success in the global economy. MAP provides mentors from businesses to high school students pursuing advanced placement coursework, not only to help them succeed in this rigorous coursework, but also to provide them with real world exposure to how the concepts are translated in the workplace, according to a statement from the program.
