THE INCLUSIVE SPACE ACADEMY SCHOLARSHIP

The Inclusive Space Academy Scholarship (ISA) was created to show the youngest members of the LGBTQIA+ Community that a career in both STEM and the Space Industry is not the unattainable dream they may believe it to be.

There is an entire generation of incredibly bright, talented, and uniquely driven individuals who have been told that the stars are beyond their reach. The ISA exists to show these remarkable young people that they DO in fact have a place in the space industry and that countless people (including some of the finest, most respected members of the scientific community as well as the actors who portrayed their childhood heroes on screen), believe in them and greatly value the contributions that, given the opportunity, they will make to the world.

The first openly LGBTQIA+ astronaut to go to space was Anne McClain in 2021. The aerospace industry across the board is lacking in queer diversity and inclusion and we seek to correct this. Thru the generous donation of 20,000 dollars from Jane Jorgensen, Gaaays in Spaaace has launched the Inclusive Space Academy Scholarship program. We are launching an essay contest to choose children to attend Space Academy in Huntsville Alabama with all expenses paid.

We are asking members of the Hollywood and Aerospace industries to join us as judges. The expectations are that judges take on a set number of essays to be determined by them based on their availability and to choose their favourite one to advance to the final round. We also ask that judges allow us to host their headshot and bio on the site and we ask them to boost the project across their online following and where it makes sense for them with media outlets. If there are people within their circles that would be interested in being judges as well, we ask for introductions.

Per the recommendations of astronaut Cady Coleman we will be offering several webinars which will consist of keynote talks and Q/A sessions between one judge and all the kids who submit an essay. Any judge who is willing is asked to do one of these webinars. Gaaays in Spaaace will handle all the logistics of said webinars. Lastly we would like our winners to meet the judges either in person or by video call. We want these kids to be inspired and to know that inspiring adults have their backs.

Sometimes it takes just one memorable and extraordinary moment to launch someone on their life’s mission and that is what we would like to see arise from this opportunity. The Queer community is filled with outsiders and outsiders are powerful because we bring new perspectives and new pathways to solutions. Imagine if we leveraged an entire generation’s worth of queer super heroes to solve some of the biggest systemic issues of our day. Imagine if we sent them to space. This is what ISA stands for and we ask you to stand with us.