Gretchen Cook-Anderson<br />Headquarters, Washington October 10, 2003<br />(Phone: 202/358-0836)<br /><br /><br />Sandra Quintanilla<br />University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, Texas<br />(Phone: 956/381-2742)<br /><br /><br />RELEASE: 03-329<br /><br /><br />NASA ENCOURAGES HISPANIC STUDENTS TO REACH FOR THE SKY<br /><br /><br /> NASA will help encourage an estimated 325,000 high school <br />students of Hispanic descent to pursue careers in science, <br />technology, engineering and mathematics during Hispanic <br />Engineering, Science and Technology Week (HESTEC) 2003, <br />October 13-16.<br /><br /><br />HESTEC Week, hosted by the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, Texas, offers unique opportunities for Hispanic <br />students to interface with industry executives, government <br />officials and educators to help them explore science and <br />mathematics-related careers. The event also actively engages <br />educators and parents, while encouraging improvements in <br />school science, mathematics and technology curricula.<br /><br /><br />NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator for Education Programs <br />Dr. Clifford W. Houston, astronaut Ellen Ochoa, Equal <br />Opportunity Programs executive Estella Gillette will <br />participate as speakers, symposia panelists and workshop <br />leaders. They join Secretary of Education Rod Paige, Rep. <br />Ruben Hinojosa and actress Rita Moreno to encourage students <br />to pursue higher education, science and technical careers.<br /><br /><br />"One of NASA's core goals is to inspire the next generation of <br />explorers, a diverse group of young people who will replenish <br />our aging workforce," remarked Houston. "Our participation at <br />HESTEC Week events enables us to reach an enormous audience of Hispanic students, advancing our ability to inspire and <br />motivate young people traditionally underrepresented in <br />science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related <br />careers," he said.<br /><br /><br />NASA is proud to be in the second year of a $300,000, three-<br />year program, Project PEERS, with the University of Texas-Pan <br />American. The purpose of PEERS is to improve teachers' <br />capacity to offer education opportunities for at-risk students <br />from middle and high schools in the Rio Grande Valley in <br />Texas.<br /><br /><br />HESTEC organizers expect on-site participation by more than <br />25,000 students, 2,000 educators and 2,000 parents. They <br />anticipate reaching more than 300,000 students nationwide by <br />webcasts and closed-circuit TV coverage of conference symposia <br />and workshops. High school students from 42 Texas "GEAR UP" <br />schools are participating in HESTEC. "GEAR UP," a Department <br />of Education grant program, is designed to increase the number <br />of low-income students succeeding in postsecondary education.<br /><br /><br />NASA is hosting an educational downlink on Tuesday, October <br />14, from 12:10 to 12:30 p.m. EDT with the crew of the <br />International Space Station and HESTEC participants. The <br />downlink is with the Station Expedition 7 crew, U.S. astronaut <br />Ed Lu and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko.<br /><br /><br />The International Space Station program, provided via NASA <br />downlink, is one in a series with education organizations <br />across the country. It is an integral component of NASA's <br />Teaching from Space Program. The program enables education <br />opportunities, using the unique environment of human space <br />flight, and builds partnerships with education communities to <br />create unique learning opportunities, through the use of NASA <br />research and educational technology.<br /><br /><br />The downlink is available on NASA TV on AMC-9, transponder 9C, <br />C-Band, located at 85 degrees west longitude. The frequency is <br />3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical and audio is monaural at <br />6.80 MHz. <br /><br /><br />For information about NASA on the Internet, visit:<br /><br /><br />http://www.nasa.gov<br /><br /><br />For more information about HESTEC on the Internet, visit:<br /><br /><br />www.hestec.org<br /><br /><br />For information about NASA's education programs on the <br />Internet, visit:<br /><br /><br />http://education.nasa.gov