CEP Students Selected as NASA Ambassadors
Congratulations to Career Exploration Program (CEP) students Matt Aquino, Jennifer Franklin, Martin Guevara, Zaida Hernandez, Narcrisha Norman, Fidelina Quiroz, and Selena Zalesak, 2011 NASA Student Ambassadors. NASA selected outstanding students nationwide to engage in space science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research opportunities through the NASA Ambassadors Program. Ambassadors will collaborate to help inspire future interns, will represent NASA at a variety of venues, and will spread the word about STEM education and career opportunities.
NASA Ambassador Martin Guevara began his CEP experience in the CEP High School program during his senior year at Chavez High School. Martin supported the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate where he completed research in the biomedical field. He was selected to participate in the CEP College program where he now works in the Habitability and Human Factors Branch. Martin is pursuing a Chemical Engineering degree at The University of Houston.
NASA Ambassador Selina Zalesak gained valuable hands on experience during her CEP High School appointment by supporting NASA's Orion Project. She built volumetric models of control boxes, consoles, and lights, which were used for various tests to perfect the design of Orion. Selina pipelined into the CEP College program and she currently supports the Habitability and Environmental Factors Division. Selina is pursuing a biochemistry degree from Texas A&M University in Galveston, Texas.
CEP college alumnus, Jennifer Franklin was selected as a 2010-2011 NASA Ambassador. As a CEP student in the Systems Architecture and Integrations Office, Jennifer was exposed to the world of Robotics, which sparked her interest in robotics programming. Jennifer attends the University of Texas at Austin and is pursuing a degree in Applied Mathematics. She looks forward to using her math skills not only to contribute to the field of robotics, but also to tutor and inspire students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
Congratulations to NASA Ambassador Zaida Hernandez. Zaida began her CEP experience as a high school student at J. Frank Dobie High School. She supported the JSC Office of Education, providing outstanding leadership on multiple education projects. Zaida pipelined into the CEP College program where she now works in the Crew and Thermal Systems Division. She attends The University of Houston and is pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Zaida hopes to work as an Aerospace Engineer at NASA after completing her college degree.
NASA Ambassador Fidelina Quiroz began her NASA journey as a CEP high school student working in the International Space Station Procurement Office. Fidelina's outstanding accomplishments to contract close-outs and software development, along with her work ethic and attention to detail, earned her a place in CEP College. Fidelina currently works in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer and she attends San Jacinto College, pursuing a Computer Engineering degree.
NASA Ambassador and CEP high school alumnus Matt Aquino supported the EVA, Robotics, and Crew Systems Operations branch during his time in the CEP program. Matt worked multiple projects while in CEP, including creating a master list for mockups at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab to ease the safety process, assisting with the "Summer of Innovation" at Johnson Space Center, and developing training presentations for new classes of astronaut candidates. Matt currently attends Oklahoma State University and is pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering.
NASA Ambassador Narcrisha Norman enjoys contributing to the space community not only through educating and inspiring students to pursue careers in STEM, but also through her own engineering expertise. Narcrisha is working on completing her Ph.D. in Philosophy of Engineering at Old Dominion University. During her 2010 summer internship through CEP's short-term assignment program (CSA), Narcrisha worked on model simulation and development, while simultaneously developing the education outreach program for JSC's premier robotics initiative, Project M. Narcrisha believes that inspiring others to pursue STEM degrees is just as important as her own engineering work, and after completing her doctorate, Narcrisha looks forward to conducting more research for NASA and eventually going on to teach engineering at the university level.
All seven students were nominated for NASA Student Ambassadors by their program manager and were selected by NASA based on their contributions to space research and commitment to serving the space community.