“You don’t know it yet, but space is going to be a big part of your life,” Space Foundations Teacher Liaison Jen Jones told Mountain Heights Academy 7-12 graders. “There is a good chance that at least a third of you in this room will, at some time, work in an industry that is supporting space.”

Jones was invited to speak to students as part of Mountain Heights Academy’s STEM Days. She told students about the history of the space program, the present focus on the Artemis moon missions, and the future missions to Mars. She said because space rocket parts are manufactured and tested here, “Utah touches space.”

Astronaut Duane “Digger” Carey USAF LTC (Ret) accompanied Jones and shared his unconventional journey from a low-performing student to becoming a NASA space shuttle pilot. He encouraged students to work hard, especially in math, and to develop hands-on skills to qualify them for jobs in the space industry.

“Space is for you,” he said. “This is your future and you control it and you can be part of it—and let me tell you, it’s the coolest stuff ever.”

Digger emphasized that there is more than one pathway to the space program, which relies on teams of workers who have a variety of skills.

“You can all be involved,” he told students. “The space team needs everybody—dancers, journalists, photographers, artists—we need them all on the space team. There is room for every single kid.” 

Mountain Heights Academy is a K-12 virtual charter school, so some students tuned in to the presentation virtually, but the majority of the participants traveled from all over the state to MHA’s building, located in West Jordan, to meet the astronaut, sample “space ice cream” and examine samples of dust and rocks similar to those found on the moon.

Bailey, an eighth-grader, drove nearly an hour to meet Digger and ask him questions about his experiences in space.

“I came because it’s always been my dream to be an astronaut,” Bailey said. “It’s really amazing that this school gives you the opportunity to meet an astronaut.”

He found Digger’s message encouraging and was excited to learn more about the progress of the Artemis missions.

Next year, Bailey plans to take MHA’s astronomy class, taught by Aminda Glass, who arranged for the guest speakers.

“Having the opportunity to actually talk to a former astronaut just brings it more to life because they get that interaction,” Glass said. “I mean, how many people actually get that opportunity?”

Glass said there has been an increase in students’ interest in space since the astronomy class was first offered at MHA last year.

“When you see that student excitement, you just want to grab onto it and help it along the way, because that is what engages them and excites them,” Glass said. “As a teacher, whenever you see that excitement, you just want to fuel it and encourage it.”

Glass applied for a grant to arrange for the guest speakers, which she hoped would generate more interest in her astronomy class and also open students’ minds to careers in the space industry.

“It’s nice to have extra resources for students, these extra contacts, because you never know what they’ll decide they want to do whenever they come into the work field,” Glass said. “Jen Jones said NASA is projecting that the space sector is going to be the fastest growing sector in the next 10 years, so they expect a lot more jobs to be open, and this will help our students set up to help fulfill some of those jobs.” λ