Son of St. Louis residents receives inaugural Boeing/FIRST Scholarship to attend Washington University in St. Louis

William (Will) G. Donnelly, son of Terrence and Ruth Donnelly of St. Louis, Mo. (63139), recently was named the inaugural recipient of the Boeing/FIRST Scholarship at Washington University in St. Louis.

A senior at Gateway Institute of Technology in St. Louis, Donnelly will enter the university’s School of Engineering & Applied Science as a freshman when the fall semester begins in August 2009.

Donnelly, who will be completing Gateway Institute’s electrical engineering program and graduating high school in only three years in May, is a 2009 National Merit Finalist. At Gateway, he has taken seven Advanced Placement courses, earning recognition as an Advanced Placement Scholar with Honors.

He serves as one of three captains for his school’s robotics team and has participated in FIRST Robotics for the past three years, winning the FIRST Tech Challenge 2008 Connect Award. He also participated in the Meramec Symphony Orchestra for five years, serving for three years as first-chair percussionist.

Washington University, with support from Boeing, offers the annual scholarship to a high school senior who has participated on a FIRST team during high school.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., the not-for-profit organization designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math.

The scholarship is renewable for four years, as long as the student makes sufficient progress toward the degree.

To be eligible for this scholarship, a student must: have participated in the FIRST Robotics Competition or a FIRST Tech Challenge Team at least one full season during high school; be admitted to Washington University’s School of Engineering as a full-time student ; and demonstrate financial need.

Washington University is counted among the world’s leaders in teaching and research and it draws students and faculty to St. Louis from all 50 states and more than 120 nations. Some 13,500 undergraduate, graduate and professional students enroll each year.

The approximately 3,090 faculty teach in seven schools: Arts & Sciences, Olin Business School, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, School of Engineering & Applied Science, School of Law, School of Medicine and George Warren Brown School of Social Work. Twenty-two Nobel laureates have been associated with Washington University, with nine doing the major portion of their pioneering research here.

The university offers more than 90 programs and almost 1,500 courses leading to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in a broad spectrum of traditional and interdisciplinary fields, with additional opportunities for minor concentrations and individualized programs.

Boeing, a FIRST Strategic Partner, is the world’s leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined. Additionally, Boeing designs and manufactures rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, missiles, satellites, launch vehicles and advanced information and communication systems.

As a major service provider to NASA, Boeing operates the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. The company also provides numerous military and commercial airline support services. Boeing has customers in more than 90 countries around the world and is one of the largest U.S. exporters in terms of sales.

Headquartered in Chicago, Boeing employs more than 160,000 people across the United States and in 70 countries. More than 83,800 of its employees hold college degrees — including nearly 29,000 advanced degrees — in virtually every business and technical field from approximately 2,800 colleges and universities worldwide.