Hello hello everyone! My name is Abi Youngker and I am so excited to share that we are less than a month away from the 4th Iceland GeoSpace Training Program in Húsavík. I was fortunate enough to be one of the three young professionals selected through Higher Orbits’ partnership with the Exploration Museum to take part in fieldwork and activities focusing on geology, and exploration in Iceland. But this incredible opportunity didn’t spawn out of thin-air, so let me tell you about how I got here!
I have been involved with Higher Orbits for close to a decade now, as I attend my first Go For Launch! event in early 2017 as a freshman in high school. That single weekend event completely transformed my trajectory in life. Walking in on day one, I had no idea what awaited me, but as nervous energy coursed through me, I found myself standing before strangers and sharing pieces of my story. I told them I was a lifelong Arizona resident, deeply rooted in the livestock showing community, and passionate about lacrosse (with dreams of maybe making it professional someday). That introduction was the beginning of it all. Thanks to Higher Orbits, that initial push beyond my comfort zone would lead to countless speaking engagements and provide me with the courage to submit applications or experiences like this upcoming Iceland trip. But more on those experiences later.
As the days unfolded, my confidence grew. I was placed on a team alongside four other students and quickly assumed the research lead. The lectures kept me riveted, every word about aerospace and STEM pulled me deeper in. From hearing the event’s featured astronaut recount and his experiences in orbit, to connecting with engineers from Orbital ATK and exploring diverse STEM careers, I was completely captivated.
By the final day of the first Gilbert GFL event, my team, the Saguaro Snakes, named proudly after our Arizona heritage, stood ready to pitch to the judges. When introducing ourselves, I highlighted how my family's agricultural background had inspired us to design an experiment centered on space-based plant cultivation.
The Saguaro Snakes won! Not just the event, but the entire series. Our experiment would actually launch! And so that November of 2017, I traveled to Wallops Island, Virginia with my family and teammates to watch the Antares rocket carry our work to the International Space Station. But that wasn't all! I was chosen as the student representative to speak on NASA TV during the pre-launch press conference. At fifteen years old, alongside Higher Orbits founder Michelle Lucas, I shared our experiment and its significance with a national audience.
That moment crystallized everything. I knew I had a future in science. I switched schools, enrolled in engineering courses, joined my school's STEM club, and kept returning to the Gilbert GFL each year, becoming increasingly embedded in the Higher Orbits community. I embraced the philosophy "You can't get it if you don't apply," and doors began opening everywhere. I
became the first recipient of Higher Orbits' Space Camp scholarship. Similar to this upcoming Geospace Iceland opportunity, I was selected as one of five students to represent the United States at the International School of Science in Sydney, Australia. By 2018, I started a social media presence sharing my STEM journey and officially became a Higher Orbits student ambassador.
College planning led me to aerospace engineering, and before the pandemic hit, I was in Denver helping Michelle at the 2020 Aerospace Day at the Capitol. While there, I visited the University of Colorado Boulder's aerospace building and fell immediately in love. A love that I have been lucky enough to pass on to other GFL students through mentorships!
Fall 2020 brought me to CU Boulder as an aerospace engineering major, though the early semester was surreal: online classes, a shuttered city, an empty campus. Still, I never doubted my choice. As restrictions eased, I applied to speak at AIAA's ASCEND conference in 2021, and I was accepted. This event was the first of many that I would attend through applications with Higher Orbits where I would share my journey with others.
Throughout my time in college I continued to apply to the openings HIgher Orbits provided, which landed me speaking at AIAA’s SciTech Forum, and attending the 40th Space Symposium conference. I had three incredible internships where I found a passion for manufacturing and hands-on engineering. The final of which evolved into my first full-time role as an associate manufacturing engineer. Today, I work on hardware components that support the creation of additively manufactured jet engines right here in Colorado.
Every achievement—every internship, every opportunity, every advancement—traces back to Higher Orbits and moments of courage where I have stepped up and applied myself. I found my passion for STEM outreach and science through Higher Orbits and I cannot wait for my journey to continue next month in Iceland! If you made it this far, thank you for reading and keep an eye out for the out-of-this-world stories and images that are going to come out of our time in Húsavík! Cheers!
Written by Avi Youngker
