Published July 1990 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd National Youth Science Camp 1990 Throughout my career, I have been committed to improving educational opportunities for young West Virginians, encouraging them to develop their talents through continued schooling and training. My efforts include the Robert C. Byrd Scholastic Recognition Award program, through which I have presented U.S. Savings Bonds to nearly 6,000 West Virginia valedictorians since 1969; and the national Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship program, which has awarded $256,500 worth of federally funded, merit-based college scholarships to 171 West Virginians since 1987. In another program to encourage talented young people, I was again privileged this year to welcome delegates from the National Youth Science Camp in West Virginia to Washington. For the 27th year, the National Youth Science Camp this summer drew 102 promising students from across the nation to the Pocahontas County 4-H camp at Bartow. The Youth Science Camp is composed of two students from each state and the District of Columbia, selected on the bases of academic achievement, leadership abilities, and interest in a science-oriented career. For three weeks each summer, these outstanding students take part in lectures and discussions on biology, physics, astrophysics, botany, zoology, geology, and other sciences; they hike, camp, and explore caves in West Virginia's forests and mountains; and they meet some of the leading scientists, technical experts, and research pioneers of our era. As an annual feature, the Youth Science campers make a visit to Washington to meet their Senators and Representatives, hear outstanding speakers at a Senate luncheon, and tour significant Washington institutions. West Virginia's own delegates to the Camp this year are Grant Stewart Bromhal of Keyser, Mineral County; and Bart Owen McCoy of Eleanor, Putnam County. In recent years, other countries have challenged the scientific and technological leadership that was once unquestionably America's. To regain our international leadership in these areas, America's young people must be encouraged to consider careers in science, research, and technology. I am proud of my association with West Virginia's National Youth Science Camp, and of the scientific and technological inspiration that it has provided for more than a quarter-century. July 18, 1990