This year Highline Community College will make a significant addition to the community - the new Marine Science and Technology (MaST) Center in Redondo.

This one-of-a-kind facility will bring together science education, research and community outreach. Highline Community College is the only two-year institution in the state to have a multi-purpose center on Puget Sound.

The newly renovated facility will provide hands-on marine science learning and research experiences for students, faculty, scientists, and community members.

The College now seeks assistance from local community members in raising funds to cover the final third of the $2.5 million necessary to pay for the MaST construction and operating endowment.

Previous community programming has already shown that the MaST Center is a valuable resource worthy of your support.

The Highline Community College Foundation's $2.5 million campaign goal will fund the new facility and create a $500,000 operating endowment for community programs, scholarships and camps for kids. To date, the College Foundation has raised over $1.6 million.

A recent challenge grant by Des Moines residents Michael and Joan Allan has added an additional incentive for the community to get involved.

Imagine driving along Redondo Beach six months from now. The MaST Center renovations are complete, and you are likely to see students working in the lab or community members enjoying the touch tanks in the aquarium.

Imagine for a moment the fifth grader on a school field trip with hands in a touch tank whose eyes light up having science come alive like never before. See the possibility of students being inspired to work harder on science studies.

If you contribute now, you will view each of these scenes with a sense of ownership and pride. This is your community and you can make a difference in science education for students of all ages.

Your contribution, no matter the size, is important and meaningful.

By contributing to the MaST Center, you will invest in the community, its people, and the environmental health of Puget Sound. Revitalizing the MaST Center is an ambitious-yet achievable-project.

I ask you to help the College inspire a new generation of scientists.

Founded in 1961 as the first community college in King County, Highline Community College is one of the state's largest two-year institutions.

HCC is the most diverse college in the state. It serves approximately 9,500 students each term and claims more than 350,000 former students who have benefited from the College's focus on excellence in teaching and learning, workforce development, and educational opportunity for all.

For more information, call Rod Stephenson at 206-878-3710, ext. 3696, or e-mail rstephen@highline.edu. To learn more about the current center and its programs, visit flightline.highline.edu/mast/.

Jack Bermingham, Ph.D., is interim president of Highline Community College.