Who Wants to be an Astronaut? WHS Student Heading to NASA!

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Amanda Skinner, Guest Editor

Five students in physics applied for the NASA SEES internship in February.  They filled out an application, filmed a video, and got letters of recommendation written on their behalf.  That was the easy part.  After that, we waited.  We waited for nearly two months.  Discussing the internship before class became part of our routine.  Less than 50 students are accepted from the entire country, but we did our best to hold out hope despite our chances.

It became much tougher to keep our spirits high after four out of five students received a rejection e-mail on the same day!  There were no more little jokes about sending students to NASA mixed into our discussions, and the remaining student started to wonder if she had been forgotten.  One week later, to the day, our last student heard back from the SEES internship director.  She hadn’t been forgotten.  In fact, it was good news!

That’s Maren Bleyl, in the middle, with the cake!

Photo Credit: J. Skinner

Maren is going to NASA to intern for two weeks this summer and brought two cakes to share with her classmates in celebration.  She will be working with real scientists and engineers to help them complete a research project at the University of Texas at Austin Center for Space Research.  I hope Maren’s success will encourage other students to apply for other opportunities like the NASA SEES internship.

As the physics teacher at WHS, I wrote 5 recommendations for this scholarship.  I was asked to define each student in 3 words.  I described Maren as determined, perceptive and gracious.  Joining her in applying were Luca Beretta (astute, self-assured and frank), Peyton Richardson (knowledgeable, rational and compassionate), Jacob Donner (dedicated, light-hearted and complementary), and Mirada Senior (intrepid, resolute and shrewd).  As well as Maren, these four deserve our respect and admiration for being willing to put themselves out there in applying.  If these students continue to seek out opportunities, I know they will find something that is the right fit for them.

Remember Coyotes, your teachers and counselors are here to help you find and apply for opportunities like the NASA SEES internship.  Feel free to ask us to write a recommendation or answer your questions.  We love to see our students succeed!