An “out of this world” experience was given to students around the world at the recent Honeywell Leadership Challenge Academy at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Alabama.
Bellevue, Redmond and Sammamish students Elinor Doran, Angelus McNally and Samuel Young were three of 320 students accepted to the scholarship program that uses interactive technology, science-oriented workshops and team exercises to teach high school students leadership skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) during a week-long educational experience.
The juniors and seniors from 45 countries and 27 states are all the children of Honeywell employees. Honeywell is an international company that produces consumer products, aerospace systems and provides engineering services.
“Our days were packed with activity … they were all so unlike anything that can be experienced at home. We got to explore the U.S. Space and Rocket Center during our entire week,” said Redmond resident McNally, a junior at Woodinville High School.
The group of students got the opportunity to experience the same training simulations as NASA astronauts, listen to a variety of speakers who work in the aerospace and leadership fields, and participate in a space mission, all centered around leadership, engineering and aerospace.
Young, a 16-year-old from Skyline High School, said an exciting part of the week was the team-building projects. The groups were given three main missions at the end of the week, one of which was a space mission. Young’s group was put into three teams, including the International Space Station crew, which executed chemistry experiments and conducted an Extravehicular Activity.
“I was lucky enough to be one of the two people on the EVA team, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. My partner and I were put in mock spacesuits and hoisted from the ground to a horizontal hanging position,” said Young. From there, the two had to use teamwork and communication to effectively replace damaged pieces.
Although team exercises and missions were a standout part of the whole experience, the favorite and most rewarding part of the program for the three was the people they met and became friends with.
“I formed friendships with them that were representative of so much more. It was truly an incredibly unique experience to be able to travel somewhere alone, not knowing anyone else there, and be immersed in a community of diverse people tied together by a shared excitement and passion to participate and learn,” McNally said.
Doran, a 17-year-old attending Interlake High School, was the only student from Washington in her room with girls from New Jersey, England, Canada, Romania and Denmark.
“It was really cool to talk with international students and compare our customs, traditions and hometowns. Plus, the debates over whether it’s pronounced ‘scone’ or ‘scon’ and ‘aluminum’ or ‘aluminium’ were always hilarious,” said Doran.
“I met and became good friends with people from all over the world, including Peru, Mexico, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, China … and many other countries. I feel incredibly lucky to have friends in these places … we plan to stay in contact with each other,” Young said.
For Young, being involved in the Rocketry Club at Skyline High School is what he thinks gave him an edge in the selection process.
McNally said the program provided a gender balance she doesn’t typically see as one of six girls out of 30 students in her computer science class.
“It was incredibly encouraging and empowering to see a STEM-focused group of people with equal gender balance … this was teamwork as it was meant to be — a clean slate and balanced playing field from the start,” she said.
