An Olentangy Berlin High School student recently spoke at the National Space Club and Foundation’s Goddard Memorial Dinner, which he said has provided him with many future opportunities.

Gavin Bull, a senior in the Delaware Area Career Center’s Engineering – Robotics, Automation, and Design program, said he applied last year for the keynote scholarship offered by the National Space Club and Foundation. Eventually, he found out he had been named a finalist in the competition.

Bull said the winner of the contest would be invited to speak at the Goddard Memorial Dinner, and he wrote his 8-minute speech about what inspires him about space. Bull said he delivered five minutes of it on the call with the foundation’s board of directors during the application process.

“Once I really got into it, it was about your passion (for) space, not about your plain credentials,” Bull said. In his speech, Bull said he is inspired by the science of space travel, the way space travel is the accumulation of the latest technology and the “human triumph aspect of it all.”

“It’s the peak prime example of what humanity can do,” he said.

Bull said another candidate was chosen for the top prize, but the foundation invited all the finalists to the dinner because of the quality of their speeches.

The dinner was held on March 10 in Washington, D.C., and Bull said he was able to meet and network with figures in the aerospace industry, where he hopes to work one day.

“It was a major networking opportunity,” he said. “(I was invited) specifically to mingle and chat. That’s why they wanted to send me to this dinner.”

Bull said he met many scientists, industry figures, and several astronauts during the event.

“Everyone else there was the head of departments and then you got some kid there,” Bull joked. “Everyone there was extremely kind. … I learned how the industry interacts with each other. Everyone is interacting and collaborating on projects.”

Bull said he left the event with 28 business cards and numerous LinkedIn contacts, and he learned that success in the aerospace field is more than knowledge.

“You need that holistic approach,” Bull said. “You don’t just need the smarts, you need the interpersonal skills and organizational skills.”

Bull said he plans to attend the University of Colorado to study aerospace after he graduates this year. He added the event has made him “extremely optimistic” about his future.

“It’s all opportunities,” Bull said. “It’s not all about your degree or your college. It’s not just hard work but smart work as well. No one else my age in the state of Ohio got that opportunity. It makes me really excited that I essentially got a jump start on my career.”

Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903 or on Twitter @BattishillDG.