PHOTO RELEASE: U.S. Coast Guard FEACT assists with Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in Japan, March 27, 2009

U.S. Coast Guard Activities Far East (FEACT) members Lt. Cmdr. Karen Jones, her husband Ronnie Jones, and Petty Officer 1st Class Travis Gray recently served as judges at the 28th annual Pacific Region Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in Tsukuba City, Japan (one of that country's high tech/university centers).

JSHS encourages students from U.S. Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS) to conduct original research and promotes science, engineering, and technology careers for young students. The Pacific Region JSHS includes DoDDS in Japan, Korea, and Guam.

More than 100 students participated in this year's symposium. Winners will go on to compete in the national JSHS.

FEACT was invited as the keynote speaker for this year's symposium and Lt. Cmdr. Jones gave a one-hour talk on science, technology, engineering, and math careers in the Coast Guard. The speech was very well received and generated much discussion and interaction with the students.

Petty Officer Gray, Jones and her husband then served as judges for the student projects. The photo above shows the 106 students and this photo shows Don Hobbs, Student Coordinator for DoD Dependent Schools Pacific, Petty Officer Gray, Ronnie Jones, Lt. Cmdr. Jones, and Richard Schlenker, a retired Coast Guardsmen and Director of the 28th Annual Pacific Region JSHS.

U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTOS