For 9 years we’ve had the privilege of working with stellar students in communities all across the country. Through those years, there are some students who have continued to engage with us in more ways than just the event they attended and these same students are the ones who shown themselves to be even more committed to their education, journey in STEM, and goals of becoming part of the Aerospace Industry.
I am proud to announce we are launching our extended mentorship program designed to help our students get to even Higher Orbits! It’s called Stars in Orbit and it is an opportunity that was extended to 16 stellar students who have shown that they have The Right Stuff! Each year we will bring in a new cosmic cohort while the previous cohorts continue.
These students have all been part of Go For Launch! Their current point in their STEM journey ranges from high school to young professionals. They come from all across the country.
Let me introduce you to the 1st Cosmic Cohort of Stars in Orbit!
Rachel Blevins
Rachel Blevins – Our trajectory met up with Rachel in Kentucky at Go For Launch! Lexington 2019 for the first time. Her team, Team V Atlas, was the winner of this event and went on to win their series of events to have their experiment sent to the International Space Station. Rachel has since attended a second Go For Launch! event and spoke on a panel with us at AIAA Sci-Tech. She is currently dual majoring in Agricultural and Medical Biotechnology and Biology at University of Kentucky.
Sarah Bloom
Sarah Bloom – At Go For Launch! Deerfield in 2017, Sarah’s team, Team NESS, was declared the winners for the experiment design for this event. They went on to win their overall series and had their experiment flown to the International Space Station. Their experiment – bees in space! She presented a poster about their experiment at the ISS Research & Development Conference and from then on knew she belonged in aerospace. Sarah graduated from Stanford in 2024 with a B.S. with Honors in Symbolic Systems, and a Minor in Data Science. She is currently finishing up an internship at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center as a Liquid Rocket Engine Machine Learning Analyst Intern. After that, she will start a full-time job at MSFC as a Software Tools Developer working on the Space Launch System.
Sophie Crowder
Sophie Crowder – We first met Sophie at Go For Launch! in Durham, NC in 2018 when her Mom drove her over an hour to attend this event because it was the closest one. Since then Sophie attended multiple Go For Launch! and her team, The Pisces Project, was chosen as the winners of the Go For Launch! Full STEAM Ahead Durham Series. As such they travelled to Spaceport America for a tour. Sophie has been part of numerous conferences with us including the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), and she has spoken on panels with us at AIAA Sci-Tech and ASCEND. Sophie just finished her 2nd year at University of Virginia as a Jefferson/Rodman school and is studying Systems Engineering (aerospace systems concentration), and astronomy as a double major, with a minor in Electrical & Computer Engineering.
Kaley Eaton
Kaley Eaton – In 2018, Kaley attended Go For Launch! in Fitchburg/Leominster and after that she had a new goal in life… to become an Astronaut! Kaley graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2024 with a degree in Engineering Physics and now works at Lockheed Martin as a Software Engineer working on Space Hardware. Kaley has spoken at ASCEND with us and is a great advocate for all things space and STEM!
Kiera Fehr
Kiera Fehr – Kiera became part of the Higher Orbits family the first year we were running event in 2016. She attended 4 Go For Launch! Lexington events and as a result one of her teams. Team V Atlas, was selected as the winners of their Series and had their experiment flown to the International Space Station. Kiera also participated in our Space at Home programs and was part of the Higher Orbits cohort of students to attend the International Science School in 2023. She has also spoken on a panel with us at ASCEND. Kiera has just finished her second year at MC State where she is pursuing a BA in Chemical Engineering an d a BA in Paper Science Engineering. She’s also currently interning at Proctor & Gamble in Research & Development.
Valentina Guillen
Valentina Guillen - Valentina is an undergraduate student at the Florida Institute of Technology, pursuing a dual degree in Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science. She is proud alumna of Higher Orbits Go For Launch! Space Coast 2023 and 2024 programs and is part of Team SuperNOVAs winners of the Go For Launch! 2023 Series, who are working toward a 2025 experiment launch to the ISS. Valentina is passionate about making space exploration more sustainable, accessible, and inspiring for the next generation of STEM leaders! She has been part of the AIAA Sci-Tech conference with Higher Orbits and is an avid volunteer to support the organization.
Abby Maltese
Abby Maltese – Our orbit intersected with Abby’s in Northern Virginia at Go For Launch! Dulles an event that was part of the Cygnus Series. Her team, Team Waffle, won not only this event but the entire series and had their experiment flown to the International Space Station in 2018. Abby has spoken at AIAA Sci-Tech with us and has earned a BS in Engineering from James Madison University and and MS in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M where she studied spacesuit design! Abby is currently working as Dassault Systèmes as a Modeling and Simulations Consultant intern.
Zach Martin
Zach Martin – Zach joined us in Spring Grove, Illinois for Go For Launch! and to do this he travelled from Oklahoma! That’s some dedication to STEM & Space! He has attended AIAA Sci-Tech and spoken on a panel there with us. Zach recently graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering. He will be heading to Navy Officer Candidate School to work towards becoming a Naval Officer and also a Pilot!
Skye McCord
Skye McCord – Skye launched into Higher Orbits at Go For Launch! Deerfield in 2017. Her team, Team NESS, proposed an experiment about bees in space that was selected as the winners of that event and ultimately chosen as the Series Winner and had their experiment was flown to be conducted on the International Space Station. She has spoken on a panel with us at AIAA ASCEND and presented her poster on Bees in Space at the ISS Research & Development Conference. Skye is entering her senior year of college at Northern Illinois University majoring in Anthropology with a minor in Art History.
Brianna Ortiz
Brianna Ortiz – Bri came into our orbit as part of our Go For Launch! Midland Series of events and has been part of several of the events in that community. She was also part of the cohort of Higher Orbits students to attend the International Science School in Australia in 2023, attended IAC with us in 2024, has been part of a panel with us at AIAA SciTech where she was also named a Rising Star in Aerospace by AIAA! Bri just received her Associate of Science from Midland College in the Texas A&M Engineering Academy. She will be transferring to College Station and will be a full-time Aggie in the fall.
Nikhita Penugonda
Nikhita Penugonda – Our orbit first crossed with Nikhita at Go For Launch! Seattle in 2019 and then she joined us again at the Space Coast event in 2023. Nikhita also participated in our Space at Home Program and Edge of Space Competition and attended the Virtual International Science School in 2021. Since then she has been part of an AIAA Sci-Tech panel with us as she continues on her STEM journey. Nikhita just finished her freshman year at Caltech where she is studying Astrophysics and Computer Science. She’s also diving into research about supernovae!
Autumn Pepper Rhodes
Autumn Pepper Rhodes – We first intersected in person with Autumn at Go For Launch! Lakeland (FL) in 2021 but she had been involved with our Space at Home program in 2020 as well. Autumn’s team was declared the winners of the Go For Launch! 2021 Series of events and had their experiment sent to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX CRS-27. Pepper was also part of the International Science School Virtual Opportunity in 2021 and has spoken on a panel with us at AIAA Sci-Tech where this year she was also name a Rising Star in Aerospace! She is currently working towards her Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Rice University.
Stella Ristic
Stella Ristic - Stella is about to graduate from Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy and will be headed to University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Fall as an environmental engineering major with a minor in physics. She has been part of Go For Launch! in Illinois twice and also on the Space Coast. Her team from the Space Coast event, Team Laika, went on to win the entire Series and had their experiment sent to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX-37!the Stella was part of the cohort to attend the International Science School in 2023 and has also spoken on a panel with us at ASCEND.
Graham Shunk
Graham Shunk - Graham came into our orbit in Durham, NC as part of the Go For Launch! Series of events we ran there. His team, Orion, was declared the winner of this Series of events and had their experiment sent to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX-16. He has been part of the AIAA ASCEND conference with us as well. Graham is at Stanford studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He is also currently working towards master's degree in EE. Graham is headed to work for Boeing in Kent, WA.
Leia Spaniak
Leia Spaniak – Another OG SpaceKid and the one who holds the record (so far) for most Go For Launch! events attended! Leia has been part of 7 Go For Launch! events and has also had her team’s experiment flown to the International Space Station, was part of the International Science School US cohort in 2019, and has attended and spoke at several conferences with us including AIAA Sci-Tech. Leia has just graduated with an Aerospace Engineering degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Abigail Youngker
Abigail Youngker – An OG SpaceKid! She was part of Go For Launch! Gilbert in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Her team, Saguaro Snakes, had their experiment flown to the International Space Station aboard Cygnus. Abi was part of the first cohort of Higher Orbits to attend the International Science School in Sydney, Australia and has participated in many conferences with us including ASCEND and AIAA SciTech where she has been part of panels with us. Abi is about to graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering from CU Boulder.
(This is just a quick intro and we plan to share much more about these stellar students with you in the coming weeks and months!)
These are our current and future STEMists, Explorers, and Leaders. It’s my privilege and pleasure to work with all of them. We will be working with various awesome humans in industry to share new opportunities with these students and you can bet you’ll see many of them at conferences and events with us. Want to get more involved? Let me know! You know we love to collaborate for opportunities to support our students.
And I hope you will all join me in giving a big BRAVO to all of these Stars in Orbit!
Space Inspires!
