MESA, Arizona – Mesa Community College student Karina Aguilar has been invited to the National Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) onsite workshop at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas in November. At the workshop, students compete in an engineering design challenge on teams with other high-achieving community college students from throughout the U.S. The teams have access to NASA staff, missions, and facilities as they learn more about careers in science and engineering.
Karina was commended by the NCAS for the dedication she put forth in the NCAS online session, as well as the quality of her assignment submissions. Winning scholars are chosen based on online module scores, completed application and overall mission design.
“This opportunity has opened doors for previous MCC students who were selected,” said Duane Oakes, Faculty Director, MCC Center for Community & Civic Engagement. “It’s an opportunity that will surely be life-changing.”
While at NASA, students form teams and establish fictional companies interested in Mars exploration. Each team is responsible for developing a prototype rover, designing a 3-D model of their rover and forming a company infrastructure, including budget, communications and presentations.
Aguilar, of Mesa, has been selected as one of 40 community college students from across the U.S. to be part of NCAS. She said she is excited about attending the workshop.
“The NASA program will help me experience a unique opportunity to explore what sort of professions I would be able to do with my major,” Aguilar said. “As my current plan is to go to medical school for neurosurgery, I hope to integrate engineering with medicine so as to develop new technology.”
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Media Contacts
Dawn Zimmer, 480-461-7892, dawn.zimmer@mesacc.edu
About Mesa Community College
Mesa Community College provides outstanding transfer and career and technical programs, workforce development, and life-long learning opportunities to residents of the East Valley area of Phoenix, Arizona. MCC excels in teaching, learning and empowering its more than 40,000 students who attend annually to succeed in a local and global community. Mesa Community College is one of ten colleges that comprise the Maricopa County Community College District. For additional information please visit mesacc.edu.
About Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society
Headquartered in Jackson, the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society is the largest honor society in American higher education with more than 1,285 chapters on two-year and community college campuses in all 50 of the United States, Canada, Germany, Peru, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates and U.S. territorial possessions. More than 2.5 million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with approximately 135,000 students inducted annually.
About NASA Community College Aerospace Scholar Program
The NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars is a project based on the Texas Aerospace Scholars, originally created by the state of Texas in partnership with Johnson Space Center and the Texas education community. Both projects are designed to encourage community and junior college students to enter careers in science and engineering in order to join the nation’s high technology workforce. With this program, NASA continues the agency’s tradition of investing in the nation’s educational programs. It is directly tied to the agency's major education goal of attracting and retaining students in STEM disciplines critical to NASA’s future missions, which include missions to Mars and beyond. For additional information, please contact National Community College Aerospace Scholars at 281-483-4112 or JSC-NCAS@mail.nasa.gov or visit visit ncas.aerospacescholars.org.
The Maricopa County Community College District is an EEO/AA institution and an equal opportunity employer of protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.