WVU students mentor the next generation of aerospace engineers during SpaceTrek summer camp

Mechanical and aerospace engineering student Evie Harper (right) advises SpaceTrek participants during small satellite launches. (WVU Photo/Laney Eichelberger)

It might be summertime, but the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University has been alive with the sounds of students learning, experimenting, and analyzing. The West Virginia SpaceTrek Program summer camp held July 12–20 welcomed 17 high school girls from across West Virginia to the world of aerospace engineering. Their guides on this stellar journey? The Statler College’s own Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering faculty and students.

Story by Laney Eichelberger, Storyteller
Photos by Laney Eichelberger, Storyteller

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

A partnership between the Statler College, West Virginia Small Satellite Center, NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, and TMC Technologies, the camp was part of a newly expanded multi-state initiative made possible through a $3.98 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies. Started at Morehead State University, SpaceTrek now encompasses programs both at MSU and WVU, allowing high school girls in Appalachia to explore careers in the space and technology industries.

Working in teams, participants built and launched small satellites called CricketSats. The satellites, launched with weather balloons, collected atmospheric data for students to later analyze and use to develop presentations of their findings. Each satellite was a culmination of skills developed during the camp, under the guidance of Research Professor in the Wadsworth Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the WVSSC David Martinelli and Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering Andrew Rhodes, experts at the Statler College.

Also central to the camp’s success was a group of soon-to-be experts at the Statler College — six aerospace engineering students ranging from undergraduate to Ph.D. levels, including Allison Schuck, Alyssa Spohrer, Clarus Goldsmith, Evie Harper, Isabella Kudyba, and Kayla Cook. Students led hands-on labs, assisted camp participants with technical skills such as breadboarding and ground communications, and coached participants through problem-solving activities and final presentations.

It was a gratifying experience, according to rising senior Harper, a mechanical and aerospace engineering student among those invited by Rhodes to facilitate the camp. After all, it’s not long ago that she was in their shoes, learning how to solder a circuit board.

“A lot of kids said that the really intricate hands-on activities were their favorite parts. It’s been super cool to see them struggle through a problem and then have the satisfying moment when they get it to work,” said Harper. “Dr. Rhodes really wanted me to help inspire these young kids and say, ‘Look, I am studying to be an aerospace engineer and I’m here to teach you that you can accomplish all of this!’”

The campers weren’t the only ones learning something new — the program was designed to bolster the educational experiences of Statler students.

“Students honed resilience, patience and instructional creativity in working with the participants, while serving as ambassadors for both WVU and STEM,” said Martinelli. “It is important to us that the program be edifying to the Statler students as well as the participants.”

Harper, who will serve as president of the WVU Society of Women Engineers this year, said SpaceTrek gave her new ideas for encouraging interest in STEM among K-12 students.

“I’m looking forward to getting involved with outreach to local high schools. We didn’t have anything like this when I was in high school, so SpaceTrek was an opportunity to see how the world of STEM has shifted,” she explained. “As a student, I look forward to reshaping our outreach events to better suit kids so that they always feel interested and excited.”

The camp was supported by regional collaborators, including Morehead State University, TMC Technologies, the West Virginia Small Satellite Center, the West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, and West Virginia Public Education Collaborative.

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