Stephanie Schierholz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-4997
stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 09-121
NASA SELECTS HIGH-PERFORMING INTERNS AS FIRST STUDENT AMBASSADORS
WASHINGTON -- NASA is taking further steps to engage undergraduate and
graduate students in NASA science, technology, engineering and
mathematics, or STEM, research and interactive opportunities. In one
such effort, NASA has inducted more than 80 high-performing interns
into the newly unveiled NASA Student Ambassadors Virtual Community.
This first group of students includes interns from 35 states and 64
different universities.
"As NASA prepares to develop and deploy a next generation of space
vehicles, the agency requires greater depth of knowledge and pursuit
of innovation than ever before," said Joyce Winterton, assistant
administrator for Education at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "To
ensure success in meeting future exploration goals, NASA and the
nation must adapt to the changing landscape and develop new
strategies to cultivate its future workforce."
NASA managers and mentors nominated the recipients from the hundreds
of current interns and fellows across the agency. NASA provides
internships that are among the most exciting research and education
opportunities available to college students. This new online
initiative further recognizes exceptional students.
Members of the NASA Student Ambassadors Virtual Community will
interact with NASA, share information, make professional connections,
collaborate with peers, represent NASA in a variety of venues, and
help NASA inspire and engage future interns. Through the community's
Web site, participants will have access to tools needed to serve as a
NASA Student Ambassador. The Web site provides the latest NASA news,
blogs, and announcements; member profiles, forums, polls, and NASA
contact information; and links to cutting-edge research and career
resources.
"The NASA Student Ambassadors Virtual Community will serve as an
outreach vehicle to the nation's students as well as a way to engage
exceptional Gen-Y NASA students," said Mabel Matthews, NASA's Higher
Education manager and lead for the community. "This innovative
activity will be a leading effort to help NASA attract, engage,
educate and employ the next generation."
One of the many ways NASA is engaging these participants is through
attendance at the upcoming space shuttle mission, STS-127, targeted
for launch June 13 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA's Office of Education has planned a pre-launch education forum
titled "Strengthening the STEM Workforce: Strategies for Engaging
Generation Y" and is inviting a number of Student Ambassadors to
Florida to engage in discussions with leadership and other interns
from NASA, industry and other federal agencies.
With this program and the agency's other college and university
programs, NASA will identify and develop the critical skills and
capabilities needed to achieve its mission. This program is tied
directly to the agency's major education goal of strengthening NASA
and the nation's future workforce.
For more information about the NASA Student Ambassadors Virtual
Community and to see an interactive map of the United States
containing the names and schools of the 2009 Cohort I participants,
visit:
http://intern.nasa.gov For more information about education at NASA, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/education For information about NASA and its programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
