PC Student Named NASA Scholar

We are proud to announce that Porterville College Student Isaac Ceballos has been chosen as one of the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars for 2024. Qualified community college students are chosen from throughout the country to participate in unique NASA led “Missions” to advance their capabilities in STEM, helping to prepare them for better representation and service in STEM fields. The three missions are designed to challenge and build student knowledge and skills by focusing on NASA’s mission goals, collaboration, and career pathways.

Mr. Ceballos is a second year student at PC taking courses in engineering and Math. His love of all things engineering comes from his time spent working on cars and machinery with his father inside his garage.

“My dad, he loves engines... but we had a little more of a language barrier when it comes to speaking because he speaks mostly Spanish and I speak mostly English, so we don’t really have that much communication to speak to each other. But, the communication we do have is building things, engines, cars, stuff like that. We work on my car all the time, it’s an old ‘96 mustang. I think that is where it really started to affect me and my love for science and STEM because, ever since [we started connecting], I’ve always loved building things.”

During his time as a NASA Community College Aerospace Scholar (NCAS), he will first participate in “Mission 1: Discover” A 5-week, self-paced online course. This orientation to NASA sets a baseline for all students wishing to pursue subsequent NCAS missions. Students will gain a broad knowledge of what NASA has in its current plan and how they can play a role. STEM based activities embedded in the online course include live and recorded subject matter expert lectures, interactive multimedia on NASA content, interactions with fellow aerospace scholars, knowledge assessments including a final project, and guidance and support from trained professional educators.

If Isaac completes that first mission, he will move on to “Mission 2: Explore” which Allows students to participate in one of two educational simulation experiences. Exploration simulation is a gamified mission to the Moon or Mars where students develop a design solution that integrates multiple systems. This simulation highlights the acts of prioritizing and making trade-offs to remain within constraints. Career simulation situates students to take on mock roles as NASA employees to gain exposure to workplace structure and culture. This simulation highlights the personal responsibilities and team dynamics needed to accomplish a huge goal such as a lunar surface exploration mission.
The final step of the mission process, after completion of the first two, is “Mission 3: Explore” An Engineering Design Challenge. Students participate in a week-long robotics competition with an NCAS partner institution OR a 3-week hybrid (online/onsite) capstone project at a NASA Field Center. STEM based activities for all students will include an engineering design challenge as well as facility tours, live subject matter expert presentations, a resume workshop, a networking event, a job shadowing opportunity, and a 4-year college campus visit. Students affiliated with an NCAS partner institution will participate in a robotics competition. Robotics Competition: Students affiliated with an NCAS partner institution will participate in a robotics competition. During the 4-day engagement, students collaborate with team members as a fictitious aerospace company vying for a NASA rover contract. Working in assigned roles, students utilize STEM-industry mentors to guide the rover design. Capstone Project: Students unaffiliated with an NCAS partner institution will participate in a capstone problem based on current challenges faced by NASA mission directorates. Thus, this engagement begins with online activities two weeks prior to the actual onsite event to brief students on the emerging and relevant details of the problem. Leading up to and during the 4-day onsite event, students develop possible solutions to the capstone problem and report them to a panel of NASA guests.

This past year Porterville College was invited to participate in the California Space Grant Consortium with the sponsorship of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of STEM Engagement to promote STEM preparation at California Community Colleges using low-cost programmable micro-computers. The goal of the grant is to provide workforce training and critical preparation to bridge students to university STEM degree programs.

The NASA Aerospace Scholar program is just one of the internship opportunities available through this partnership with PC. For more information, visit the PC Innovation Centers Website at https://www.portervillecollege.edu/programs-and-classes/innovation-centers/index.html