March 18, 2019- Collin College students Fadi Istelinides (Frisco) and Kelly Corzo (Dallas) were recently selected to travel to NASA to participate in the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) onsite experience this summer.
Istelinides and Corzo are two of 403 community college students from across the nation selected for the honor.
A five-week online activity culminates with a four-day on-site event at a NASA center and offers students the opportunity to interact with NASA engineers and others as they learn more about careers in science and engineering. While at NASA, students form teams and establish fictional companies interested in Mars exploration. Each team is responsible for developing and testing a prototype rover, forming a company infrastructure, managing a budget and developing communications and outreach.
Istelinides, the regional president of Phi Theta Kappa honor society, received a perfect score in the online course.
“This is my first step into this huge opportunity to get closer to my dream of working for NASA,” said Istelinides, who is pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering and plans to earn a master’s degree in aerospace engineering.
Corzo, who is pursuing a degree in geographical information science, has been interested in a job at NASA since she first looked up at the stars as a young child. Like Istelinides, Corzo scored 100 in the online course.
“My hard work finally paid off,” said Corzo. “When things get hard don’t give up on yourself because you never know what can happen. I am really looking forward to this.”
The onsite experience at NASA includes briefings by NASA subject matter experts, information on how to apply for internships and a tour of NASA’s unique facilities.
NCAS is an activity funded in part by the Minority University Research and Education Program, or MUREP, which is committed to engaging underrepresented and underserved students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in authentic learning experiences to sustain a diverse workforce.
With this activity, NASA continues the agency’s tradition engaging the nation in NASA’s mission.
“NCAS not only inspires community college students to advance in STEM fields, but it also opens doors for future careers at NASA. NCAS has a legacy of alumni moving from NASA internships to ultimately entering the NASA workforce. It is rewarding to see the progression of a student from NCAS participant to NASA colleague,” said Joeletta Patrick, Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) manager.
For more information about Collin College degrees and programs, visit www.collin.edu.
Collin College serves more than 55,000 credit and continuing education students annually and offers more than 100 degrees and certificates. The only public college based in Collin County, Collin College is a partner to business, government and industry, providing customized training and work force development. In addition, the college operates the Collin Higher Education Center, which has an enrollment of 3,500 each year in partnership with The University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Woman’s University, Texas A&M Commerce, Texas Tech and the University of North Texas.