This fall, 36 high school juniors will be serving on Congressman Brian Babin’s Students for Space Congressional Advisory Council (SSCAC). Premier High School of Dayton’s Marcos Godinez will be one of those students.
“I was shocked when I got selected. It is a really great opportunity. I really want to talk to NASA and learn about how they build spaceships,” says Marcos.
As part of the council, Marcos will provide his perspective on human spaceflight, space studies, STEM and the NASA Johnson Space Center. He will participate in meetings four times during the school year.
Campus director Suzanne Thomas was contacted by Representative Babin’s office about the opportunity for students completing their sophomore year this spring.
“I met with all the eligible students at my school. Marcos has done very well academically, particularly in math and science. It is my hope that this particular activity will not only give him an opportunity to serve in a leadership position representing other students but also gain exposure to careers he is interested in,” she says.
Marcos came to Premier High School in the fall of 2016 because he wanted a better learning experience and the opportunity to graduate early.
“I really like that I can go through the lessons on my own and actually learn it instead of just listening to a teacher. It is really easy to just tune them out,” Marcos explains.
Before he was selected to be part of SSCAC, Marcos was already considering a career in engineering.
“I was already set on a career in engineering, but now I really want to do aerospace engineering. I hope I can learn more about it this next year,” says Marcos.
In addition to this opportunity, Ms. Thomas is looking for other opportunities for her students to explore different subjects and encourage their interest. This summer she is encouraging her students to participate in math and science programs at the local community college.
“As an educator, it is wonderful to have intelligent students like Marcos. We do everything we can to help them achieve their dreams. For Marcos, it is to be one of the first members of his family to go to college,” Ms. Thomas says.
After he graduates from high school, Marcos hopes to attend Texas A&M’s engineering program.
