Latino mentors at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, recently helped a group of students to shine brightly in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
The students, members of the Diamantes, Spanish for diamonds, program at Saint Thomas More Catholic School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, spent the day at Langley speaking with employees and touring the facility and the Virginia Air and Space Center.
Rebecca, age 11, loved seeing the spacecrafts and said, “Diamantes helps all the kids unite together to make their dreams come true.”
Spanish teacher Ilka Cordova created the group for fourth- through eighth-graders as a way for her school’s community of Spanish speaking students to grow together. She related the students to diamonds that need to be “polished” in order to shine. Through videos, interviews and creative projects, the group allows Cordova’s students to be inspired by other Hispanic professionals to never give up on their dreams.
“You can’t be what you can’t see,” said Marilé Colón Robles, Langley’s education outreach coordinator who organized the visit with Langley’s Hispanic Employee Advisory Committee and Science Directorate, and Science Systems and Applications, Inc. “This is a great concept to keep in mind when trying to inspire children,” she said. “It helps to show them that there are so many different opportunities in the world.”
Parents also have a place in the Diamantes group. While the students were at Langley, their parents were at the National Institute of Aerospace with additional Langley volunteers. While there they learned how to use the GLOBE Observer app to make cloud observations, an activity they can continue to do at home, and got some hands-on experience with robotics and shared other ways to encourage their children along a STEM career path.
The employee mentors were each matched with a small group of students. They chatted over lunch about their education, careers, and motivation and did an activity together.
Marlyn Andino, a research engineer at Langley, brought a Lego plane to help explain her job. She wants to motivate children, especially young girls, and show them they don’t have to be intimidated by STEM.
Aidan, age 13, is interested in physics and how things work. He was excited to meet volunteer Debbie Martinez, manager of NASA’s Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program, and inspired by her story about training to become a pilot and conquering her fear of piloting a stalling plane.
As they left the center, the students buzzed and Cordova said she was thankful to everyone who helped make the day happen. She hopes to be able to bring her next class of Diamantes to NASA as well, helping to make more children’s dreams reality.
“It has been my dream to visit NASA. My life is complete,” gushed Hari, age 8.
Florentina Sergiou
NASA Langley Research Center