Sam Frostman STEM Scholarship Fund

Dark Skies, Inc. is proud to present scholarships for all residents in Custer County, CO to pursue STEM related university degrees. Scholarship applications are open to all students in Custer County, whether traditional students or non-traditional such as home school or online students. 

Education is a core concept of our mission statement as an organization. In pursuing that goal and encouraging the people in our community to engage in STEM fields such as astronomy, Dark Skies awards a scholarship of $5,000 per year for four years to a qualified applicant.

A dedicated Scholarship Selection Committee composed of Dark Skies members and members of the community evaluate student scholarship applications, ensuring that all criteria are met before awarding a scholarship. The scholarship is open to all members of our community, independent of age, current educational situation, or financial status, if they are pursuing degrees in a STEM field at any accredited college (including community college) or university in the United States. The student’s college major must be listed among the more than 395 STEM majors in order to qualify. Demonstrating acceptable progress towards a STEM major each semester is a condition to continue to receive the scholarship for four years.

Our first scholarship recipient, Tyler Ferron, will graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree from North Dakota State University in the spring of 2023. His major is Software Engineering with a minor in Statistics. Daniel Kennedy will graduate from the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs in the spring of 2024 also with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. Daniel is majoring in Computer Engineering with a minor in Electrical Engineering. Mat Kienbusch will graduate from Colorado Mesa University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in the spring of 2025. Elizabeth (Brooke) Flynn will graduate from the Colorado School of Mines in the spring of 2026 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry/Chemistry.

Daniel says “The Dark Skies STEM scholarship has provided invaluable help in my pursuit of a Computer Engineering degree. Not only has it helped pay for my tuition, but it has also allowed me to focus more on school. I can’t thank Dark Skies enough for the opportunity they have provided!“

2024 Scholarship Applications NOW OPEN!

Please note that non-traditional students, such as those being home schooled or doing online schooling, are also eligible to submit an application and receive a scholarship. Click on the link below to save the scholarship application. There is also a separate downloadable evaluation form to be used for your 2 personal recommendations. The application and evaluation forms are both PDFs that can be completed digitally and emailed for submission. While digital submission is preferred, you can also print out the application and evaluation forms to submit via mail to Dark Skies, Inc. P.O. Box 634, Westcliffe, CO 81252.

ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY APRIL 19, 2024 TO QUALIFY.

Please contact Mrs. Susan “Sam” Frostman at samfrostman@gmail.com for more information or questions regarding the scholarship or application process.