7 MIHS Students Complete 5-Month Washington Aerospace Curriculum

(Left to right) Han Sun, Alex Cheney, Arrah Vandehaar-Johnsen, Keira Weller, and Kai Bergman pose for a group photo just inside the main entrance to MIHS. Bennett Novak and Dash Dahlberg are shown in photos in the story. All 7 recently completed the Washington Aerospace Scholars (WAS) 5-month WAS online curriculum.

Mercer Island, WA, May 18, 2026 – Seven Mercer Island High School juniors have recently completed the Washington Aerospace Scholars (WAS) 5-month WAS online curriculum. These seven students are:

Kai Bergman

Alex Cheney

Dash Dahlberg

Bennett Novak

Han Sun

Arrah Vandehaar-Johnsen

Keira Weller

Based on their outstanding participation in the online course, Bennett Novak, Alex Cheney, and Arrah Vandehaar-Johnsen were invited to participate in the competitive WAS Summer Residency.

WAS is designed to connect high school juniors with educational and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through independent learning, hands-on interaction, professional guidance, and site-based tours. Since 2006, over 2,400 students have successfully completed the program and 79% have since reported being in a STEM career pathway.

In November 2025, along with 300 others, these MIHS students began a five-month course consisting of nine NASA and University of Washington designed lessons. While successful completion of the online course curriculum can earn the students five University of Washington credits in Aeronautics & Astronautics; the ultimate prize is securing a spot in the Summer Residency.

This summer, scholars will be presenting their design for a human mission to Mars. In each session, four student teams will cooperate to plan a human mission to Mars with support from professional engineers/scientists, university students, and certificated educators. Additionally, participants receive briefings from aerospace professionals, tour engineering facilities, and compete in hands-on engineering challenges.

Student and teacher applications for the 2026-27 program year will be available starting in Fall of 2026. Be the first to know by filling out an interest form at https://www.museumofflight.org/was. The online course will begin in November and participants must be high school juniors and residents of Washington state. There is no cost for participation in WAS Phase One!

WAS is hosting a Virtual Info Night on Thursday, May 28 from 6 - 7PM

Students, families, and teachers are welcome to join the WAS Info night. More information can be found here.