ThaoVy Nguyen has always had an interest in science. It could be said it’s in her blood, as the Chantilly, Virginia, teen’s mother used to work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
So when she was told by her brother and a teacher about a new program to learn about Earth science and the environment, she jumped at the chance.
“I’ve always been in the science realm, so I thought this was a really good opportunity for me to get into it too,” she said.
Nguyen was among dozens of junior and senior high schoolers from across Virginia that were recently invited to NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, as part of the Virginia Earth System Science Scholars (VESSS) program for a weeklong residential summer academy that tested their knowledge in STEM, writing, interpersonal skills and team-building.
“It opens up so many different opportunities and so many different bridges and mentorships that you can have” before going to college, she said. “It’s really unique.”
Earthly research
The VESSS program is an online Earth System Science course featuring a NASA scientific research and data-learning experience. In order for students to be selected for the summer academy at NASA Langley, they had to successfully complete seven web-based modules and a final project during the course of the school year.
Students selected to participate in the summer academy were immersed in NASA-related research through interaction with scientists, engineers and technologists. The students were tasked to design a mission to explore the Earth systems through the launching of a satellite mission.
The program is a partnership between the Virginia Space Grant Consortium and NASA Langley Research Center. Hampton University’s Center for Atmospheric Research and Education provided funding to offer the online course and Thomas Nelson Community College partnered to provide three dual-enrollment college credits.
“VESSS is really all about helping students better understand their own planet through knowledge gleaned through NASA and other research,” said Mary Sandy, director of the Virginia Space Grant Consortium.
Sandy said this was an idea her team had five years ago to give high school students new skills and knowledge ahead of their college careers.
“Having these programs on your college application and resume can be very helpful,” she said.
Learning more about our planet
At orientation July 18, the students were broken up into four teams, each tasked with creating a project on aspects of Earth science: biology, hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere. The missions pertained to monitoring drought conditions, tracking global pollution, studying sea level rise and the impacts of volcanic eruptions. Every mission was related to climate change and how each sphere is connected to each other.
“The point of the mission simulation is to make us work as different groups,” said Isaiah Duplessis, a Norfolk, Virginia, teen who was the mission manager for the biosphere team. “The real issue is not individuals within their group, it’s mostly how do we effectively communicate with each other.”
Within those teams, students were assigned various roles to collaboratively design a feasible mission to launch a satellite to study the Earth systems and the effects on climate variability. The mission’s elements included aspects like contamination mitigation and public outreach. The teams went off into breakout sessions throughout the academy for discussion and mission design work.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Nguyen, who was the mission manager for the atmosphere team. “I feel I’ve grown a lot.”
The four teams weren’t alone in their research, as they had VESSS master teachers, mentors from NASA Langley and college interns assisting them in their work.
“They’re highly intelligent but also eager to learn to work at this level and that requires much more than being able to understand the science,” said Julie Beck, a VESSS master teacher for the hydrosphere team. She is an Earth science and Advanced Placement environmental science teacher at Kecoughtan High School in Hampton, Virginia.
The collaborative aspects and scientific immersion the students underwent were high points for Beck.
“It’s rewarding to see someone get so excited about what they’re learning,” she said.
At the end of the academy, each team had to present their work to a panel of NASA Langley researchers during a mission design review panel, and then to NASA administrators, their parents and other guests at the closing ceremony.
Sandy said the review panel could not stump the students with their questions and praised their professionalism.
“We’re very proud of this class,” Sandy said.
Process of elimination
Learning about Earth science is important, but figuring out a career path was also emphasized. Rosemary Baize, associate director of advanced planning and technology for NASA Langley’s Science Directorate, lauded the program’s goals of scientific and personal development.
“The fact (the students) are here now doing this program is amazing,” she said.
Those words were echoed by VESSS mentor Bill Moore, associate professor of atmospheric and planetary sciences at Hampton University and professor in residence at the National Institute of Aerospace.
“The experiences these kids get are amazing,” he said.
The staff and mentors at the academy tried to impart the skill of discovery from as many sources as possible.
“They learned from the best professionals around,” said Rudo Kashiri, VSGC Education programs manager.
Those professionals gave the students unique views and jobs of science they never considered, Nguyen said.
“You’re making connections. You’re putting you face out there. They know who you are,” said Hunter Tuck, a Randolph, Virginia, teen who was the mission manager for the lithosphere team.
In the varied field of science, it can be what you don’t like that steers a course to what you like. The academy gave students plenty of views of Earth science for them to consider.
“I really am a big believer in doing the internships … figuring out what it is you like and what it is you don’t like,” Baize said. “Sometimes what you don’t like is just as important.”
The mentors, interns and master teachers stressed “taking the next step” with the knowledge gained from VESSS, said Julia Dressel, a Centerville, Virginia, teen who was the mission manager for the hydrosphere team.
“Now I have a better idea of my options,” she said.
Final takeaways
Coming off the success of the first-time program, Sandy said it will be offered next year for free, with four new Earth science themes for students to tackle.
For this year’s VESSS class, the missions the students crafted from start to finish drew praise from their teachers.
“I was really impressed by what’s been produced,” Moore said. “It’s been successful beyond anything I could have expected.”
Moore hoped students gained a perspective of the wholeness of the planet – especially when it comes to “an extreme problem” of climate change, he said.
“We all need to be ready to solve that problem,” he said. “Most importantly, we got to do it together.”
Some of the students had reservations about Earth science. Going through the program helped alleviate their initial concerns.
“I wasn’t initially interested in Earth science. I had bad experiences with it in high school,” Duplessis said. “Being part of the course definitely helped my understanding of it and how I liked it.”
The VESSS summer academy was, in part, meant to create a new understanding and use of real-world applications of Earth science and develop new skills for the students along the way. As Baize told the students at orientation: “You guys are the future.”
