As long as I can remember, I've been drawn to science, especially space exploration. During the COVID lockdown, I discovered rocket launch livestreams and quickly memorized every launch vehicle and acronym. I was determined to make the best out of all the free time I suddenly had, even if it was spent quarantined at home. During a tough time, the stars were always there in the night sky to give me hope - I know I'm not alone in feeling that. Science is a very universal and human subject; it’s driven by curiosity about the unknown and unites people under that curiosity. One reason I love engineering so much is that it applies science to solve real world problems.
My name is Keira Roberts, and I'm a sophomore in high school from the western suburbs of Chicago. In 2025, I participated in my first Go For Launch! in Grand Rapids. Going into it, I had no idea what to expect and am so thrilled it led me to AIAA SciTech. Go For Launch! immediately felt very welcoming. To be honest, I was a little worried before I went. That nervousness disappeared when I walked through the door and met the other space kids. I really enjoyed being around so many people who shared my passion. I knew no one going into that event, but I left feeling like I had known my teammates for years. Getting to work on a project like my team’s experiment pitch was incredible. One of the reasons I want to work in space exploration is to be part of a team like that. All the stories I heard and the connections I made also bolstered my confidence going into my Sophomore year.
Even though our team’s experiment on bacterial transformation wasn’t selected, we all learned a lot from the process of brainstorming and presenting our project. That’s a big part of engineering - no matter what the outcome is, you learn something. The feedback from Go For Launch! was incredibly helpful too. Go For Launch! is truly an amazing program that gives students an opportunity to experiment in STEM to find out what they love by working on real-life projects.
I am so excited about the 2026 AIAA SciTech Conference. It’s a chance to learn more about what’s going on now in the aerospace industry and to get to know more people with similar interests. During the conference, I hope to get a better idea of what it is like to work in aerospace and engineering in general. I am so grateful for this incredible opportunity and can’t wait to share my experience afterwards!
Written By Stellar Student Keira Roberts
