One of the most unique programs the San Jacinto College Continuing and Professional Development division offers to students is the Aerospace Academy. For more than a decade, the Aerospace Academy has partnered with the NASA-Johnson Space Center Office of Education to collaborate with education, industry, government, economic development, and community groups to advance science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) career development.

Getting students interested in STEM degrees and careers starts with sparking their interest at a young age. One of the Academy’s most successful initiatives involves underwater robotics with the annual Water-Bots camps. In the beginner camps, students age 12 to 16 get the opportunity to learn the basics in electronics, soldering, and robotic construction. In the intermediate camps, students with some prior robotics experience through school programs or previous Academy camps get advanced instruction on robot design and electronics. All Water-Bots camps offer tours at NASA-JSC, professional speakers, and more. The Academy also hosts an annual Space Settlement Design Competition, giving high school students an opportunity to participate in an industry specific game to simulate the experience of working on an aerospace company team.

This past Spring, the International Space Station’s National Lab (ISS-NL) at NASA awarded the Academy the Robotics, Ocean, Microgravity, Explorers (ROME) Cooperative Agreement. Through the agreement, students from middle schools in Texas and Iowa get a chance to develop an understanding of microgravity as demonstrated aboard the ISS by using underwater robotic technology at the Sunny Carter Neutral Buoyancy Lab. San Jacinto College students, like 24-year-old Bre Covington, serve as coaches to assist students and teachers in building their remote operated vehicles (ROV), ending with a underwater robotics challenge.

“Helping students build their Sea Perch robots was a lot of fun,” said Covington. “Watching them run their robots through the obstacle course the day of competition was so rewarding because the students get to see how all of their hard work pays off. Activities like the ROME Challenge get students engaged in many opportunities within the STEM fields. Students might think they enjoy a specific profession over another, but when they get to experience other STEM fields, they might find another area they desire more.”

Along with hands-on robotics design at a NASA facility, San Jacinto College students also have access to internship opportunities through the “Get a Glimpse” and “Pathways” programs. San Jacinto College partners with local aerospace companies to place students in paid internships during the summer. Internships can last as long as one semester up to a full year and provide valuable on-the-job training, professional development, and networking. Students also get hands-on experience exploring a new industry as they begin to plan their career paths. Qualifications for the “Get a Glimpse” and “Pathways” internships include students who are pursuing pre-engineering, IT, mathematics, business, accounting, and finance degrees; a GPA of 3.0 or better; and reliable transportation to the job site. The application deadline is March 31, 2014. All interested San Jacinto College students should apply at their campus career and employment center.

For more information on the San Jacinto College Aerospace Academy, visit sanjac.edu/aerospace-academy, or follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SJCAerospaceAcademy and Twitter at twitter.com/SJCAerospace.

Andrea Vasquez