High School Students Learn to Soar During This Year’s NASA Camp in Effort to Pique Their Interest in Aerospace Engineering
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2023
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Del Mar College and Texas A&M University-Kingsville partner for second year as part of NASA Planning Grant to encourage South Texas underrepresented minority students to pursue studies and STEM-related careers
Article by Melinda Eddleman
NASA Camp 2023_DMC Faculty member and two participants ready to launch rocket
Even though the winds on Saturday, April 29, reached upwards of 45 to 55 mph outside the Emergency Training Building on Del Mar College’s (DMC) Windward Campus, area high school students shot off their hand-built solid fuel and air-powered rockets during the second one-day NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Aerospace Engineering Camp for this year. The camo is offered in partnership with Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) to introduce students to principles associated with aerospace engineering as a means to encourage these young minds to pursue studies and careers in the field.
The learning experience is part of a three-year $1.2 million NASA Planning Grant that was awarded to TAMUK in late August 2021 with the College among the partnering higher education institutions. The funding incudes DMC receiving $180,000 during the grant period to close the gap in the aerospace engineering field among underrepresented minorities, specifically Hispanics and women.
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The purpose of this project is to provide opportunities for students, especially those underrepresented in STEM fields, to engage with NASA’s aeronautics, space and other STEM-related activities in support of a diverse workforce for NASA and the aerospace industry in the future, so this is a great opportunity for students attending the Costal Bend’s regional universities, colleges and high schools.
Yan Xu, DMC Professor of Computer Science
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DMC and TAMUK organizers held the first of the two 2023 NASA Aerospace Engineering Camps on April 22 with a full house. The learning opportunity accommodated 22 students, who represented CCISD––including Moody High School and the Harold T. Branch Academy––as well as Calallen, Robstown Early College, St. John Paull II and Tuloso-Midway High Schools, Incarnate Word Academy and one home-schooled student.
Three students with DMC faculty Yan Xu and Nedal Sheber
Sixteen more high school students spent April 29 building and launching their air-powered and solid fuel rockets, building and flying different airplane models and flying professional-grade drones under supervision with instruction led by DMC Computer Science, Engineering and Advanced Technology Department faculty. Twenty-two students who originally registered for the second camp represented 10 high schools with six area independent school districts, including one in San Antonio, and one academy. Those schools include the Collegiate, Moody, Veterans Memorial and W.B. Ray High Schools with the Corpus Christi Independent School District, Banquete, Calallen, Flour Bluff and Odem High Schools, the Incarnate Word Academy and Luther Burbank High School with the San Antonio Independent School District.
Interest in the NASA Aerospace Engineering Camp has even generated a waiting list for bext year when DMC and TAMUK offer the free learning experience, again.
“We received many applications and queries for the camp; and both camps filled very quickly, so we have a waiting list and plan to offer two more camps in 2024, first using the list we generated this year,” noted Xu. “We want to use these camps and the activities they provide to inspire our students to build on their interests in and passion for aerospace engineering-related careers,”
Making progress on the project
As the lead institution, TAMUK received the grant through NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project, which is a component of the agency’s Office of STEM Encouragement and a phased partnership with the National Science Foundation. Del Mar College, along with the other partner institutions, is part of A&M-Kingsville’s Parallel Pathways of Excellence to Engage Minority Students in Aerospace Engineering project that falls under the NASA planning grant.
Planning project objectives are to create a concept paper for broadening participation in aerospace engineering through a coalition of Minority Serving Institutions, high schools, the private sector, libraries and nonprofit, state and governmental organizations as well as to create a comprehensive action plan with detailed intervention activities by testing and assessing the impacts of various approaches during the planning stage.
Besides annual high school camps, the NASA Planning Grant also supports DMC and TAMUK classroom activities and materials with NASA-relevant content, student summer research internships, career readiness through paid internship opportunities and industry webinars.
Ultimately, a long-term goal is to develop the first Aerospace Engineering Bachelor of Science degree program in South Texas and expand its capacity through multi-sector partnerships to synthesize and enhance the broadening of participation among historically underserved groups. TAMUK currently offers an Aerospace Engineering Minor Program.
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For directions to Wolfe Recital Hall, get online directions and campus map to the Heritage Campus located at 101 Baldwin Blvd. (78404). Questions? Contact DMC faculty member Dr. Dawson Barrett at dbarrett2@delmar.edu or the Social Sciences Department at 361-698-1228. In a compelling new contribution to the historical study of Jewish communities in Texas, Stone has helped bring to life the memoir of Morris Riskind in Neither Fish nor Fowl, which was published in October 2024 by Texas Tech University Press (TTUP). The book offers a rare glimpse into the multicultural, multilingual world of the Texas-Mexico borderlands and is available on commercial platforms like Amazon.com for purchase. TTUP approached Stone to edit and provide historical context for the book, which had been years in the making. Morris Riskind originally completed his memoir in 1993 before passing away in 1998. His son, Dr. Peter Riskind, worked tirelessly to get the manuscript published, and after its acceptance by TTUP in 2021, Stone was invited to refine and enhance the text with an introduction and extensive annotations. “The manuscript Peter submitted was excellent, but TTUP believed it needed some editorial work, particularly in providing historical background,” Stone explained. “I was thrilled to accept the opportunity.” The book recounts the life and business ventures of the Riskind family, who ran a successful clothing store in Eagle Pass for nearly a century. However, working on the project posed unique challenges for Stone, who had to immerse himself in the history of the Texas border region, a subject outside his usual research focus. “Morris gives us a lot of information, but few readers—myself included—would be familiar with all the names, places and historical events he references,” Stone said. “I had to study a lot to catch up.” One of the book’s remarkable aspects is its portrayal of Eagle Pass’ small yet resilient Jewish community. With never more than 60 Jewish residents at any given time, the Riskinds played a central role in maintaining religious traditions despite the absence of institutional support. “They had to do everything themselves, ranging from leading worship to teaching their children,” Stone noted. Another fascinating element of Neither Fish nor Fowl is its depiction of the multilingual nature of the Riskind family business. 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Stone says he’s been fortunate to receive a lot of recognition recently. “We have such an excellent faculty at Del Mar College—my own colleagues in History and Social Sciences are the best anywhere—and to be singled out for attention from among that group is unexpected, probably undeserved and extremely gratifying,” he said. “So much of the work related to research and writing is solitary,” he added. “Even as teachers, we’re rarely seen doing our thing by anyone except our own students. It means everything to be noticed, to have colleagues, administrators and staff recognize me for the work I’ve tried hard for a long time to learn to do well. I have enormous respect and appreciation for my colleagues, and their respect for me means the world.” Stone has also penned his own book titled The Chosen Folks: Jews on the Frontiers of Texas, which won the Southern Jewish Historical Society’s 2011 Book Prize. He also edited Memories of Two Generations: A Yiddish Life in Russia and Texas.
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