Students Get the Feel of Real-World Challenges with NASA on Campus at Cerritos College
Cerritos College hosted its third NASA on Campus event from August 11-14 as part of
the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) program.
Thirty-three students from Cerritos College and the College of the Desert were selected to be part of NCAS at Cerritos College. The College is one of twelve community college campuses hosting the NCAS this fall. Cerritos College has been part of NCAS since its pilot stage in 2019.
The experience consisted of a five-week online activity (Mission 1) that culminated with a four-day event on campus (Mission 2) and offered students the opportunity to learn about careers in science and engineering. While at Cerritos College, students formed teams and established fictional companies competing for a Mars rover contract. Each team was responsible for developing and testing a prototype rover, forming a company infrastructure, managing a budget, and developing communications and outreach. The event also included briefings by NASA subject matter experts, information on how to apply for NASA internships, and tours of the Aerospace Corporation, Google, and USC’s Space Engineering Research Center. Three Cerritos College and NCAS alumni, who now work as engineers for ABL Space Systems, Boeing, and Siemens, served as mentors.
The Minority University Research and Education Program (MUREP) funds the NCAS program. MUREP is committed to engaging underrepresented and underserved students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) with authentic learning experiences to sustain a diverse workforce.
With this activity, NASA continues the agency’s tradition of engaging the nation in NASA’s mission and leading an innovative and sustainable program of exploration to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities.
“Many students who participated in NCAS have gone on to achieve their dream jobs. NCAS on Campus has proven to open doors for our students who want to explore opportunities and careers with NASA and other STEM-related professions,” said Janet Mclarty-Schroeder, chair of physics, astronomy, and engineering and NCAS coordinator at Cerritos College.
Some of the students who participated in the on-campus event may be invited to Mission 3 at a NASA Center to develop possible solutions to current NASA challenges onsite.
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