Trey Griffing Trey Griffing, son of Sharon and Kenneth Griffing, received the Bernard Curtis Brown II Memorial Space Camp Scholarship. Griffing, a ninth grade homeschool student from Columbia, was one of the 15 recipients of 245 applicants worldwide.

Funded by the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC), the scholarship is named for an 11- year- old boy who died on September 11, 2001.

Brown was a passenger flying on American Airlines Flight 77 when it was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon. The son of Navy Chief Petty Officer Bernard Curtis Brown, he was en route to represent his school in a National Geographic event in California.

The scholarships cover the cost of traveling to and attending the NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.

The MCEC Website states, "U.S. Space Camp is an eight- day program that shows youngsters firsthand what it takes to be an astronaut. Activities include simulated Space Shuttle missions, training simulators, rocket building and launches, scientific experiments, and lectures on the past, present, and future of space exploration."

In his essay response to the prompts given, Griffing detailed why he should be selected, his patriotism, his future goals and community service, and his intentions for after the camp.

He was also required to submit two letters of recommendation. Griffing was eligible as the child of an active- duty military parent. Proud father, SFC Kenneth Griffing is finishing up a three- year assignment as a drill sergeant at Fort Jackson.

After attending the week- long camp in early June, Griffing described it as "fun and challenging," saying, "the camp helped me learn a lot about the principles of flight and the different characteristics of airplanes."

He continued, "My favorite part of Space Camp was SEAL OPS, where we had a simulated mission to recapture our territory, and Escape and Evasion, where we had to avoid getting captured by our counselors using military tactics."