A group of middle school students gather around Dryden life support technician Jim Sokolik as he explains the workings of a high-altitude pilot's pressure suit.

NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center was well represented at the 2009 Salute to Youth career fair in Palmdale, Calif., Sept. 18. Not only was the 18th annual student career fair centered at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility and nearby Bldg. 704 adjacent to Air Force Plant 42, but several Dryden employees staffed several of the more than 100 exhibits and information tables at the event. An estimated 2,500 middle school and high school students attended the day-long event to learn about career opportunities available to them both in the local area and around the country.

(NASA photos by Tom Tschida)

NASA Dryden's student and faculty programs coordinator Kendra Titus discusses career interests with a high school student in front of the SOFIA exhibit at Salute to Youth.

NASA Dryden research pilots and flight test engineers Herman Posada, Manny Antimisiaris, Nils Larson and Carrier Rhoades (from left) were kept busy autographing photos of themselves with the aircraft they fly.