District News
DDESS Schools in the News
Fort Campbell Student has sights on the Stars
by David Snow, The Eagle Post
The Eagle Post
Oak Grove KY | September 26, 2012
Most high school seniors are not very sure about what they want to do for a career after graduation. A lot of college students are also unsure, at least in their first couple of years. Fort Campbell High School senior Dina Del Rio knew that she wanted to be an engineer of some sort, but after visiting the NASA camp at Johnson Space Center, Texas, she is now 100-percent sure that she wants to be a space engineer. "I've always been interested in space and airplanes and things like that," Del Rio said. "But a chance to actually go to NASA — you can't pass that up!" NASA's summer Aerospace Scholars program is very exclusive. High school seniors-to-be apply online for a chance to be one of only 44 students to take part in the weeklong program. If accepted, the applicant takes a five-month online course that includes essays, research papers and technical design reviews. "They set out different things for you to draw," Del Rio said. "So, I made my own version of a shuttle and a satellite, like a Mars orbiter. There are also a lot of essays like 'Lunar Landings' — what would you do, what technologies would you use, that kind of thing."