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Northern Oklahoma College student selected to visit NASA Spring 2020

STILLWATER, Oklahoma – Tyler Hutcheson of Stillwater has been selected to attend the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) Onsite Experience at Johnson Space Center, February 24-28, 2020.

He is a Pre-Engineering student at NOC Stillwater.

Hutcheson is one of the selected participants out of 524 community college students from across the U.S. to be part of NCAS. Hutcheson successfully completed a five-week online course which lead to a visit to a NASA center.

The five-week online activity culminates with a four-day onsite event at a NASA center which offers students the opportunity to learn more about careers in science and engineering. While at NASA, students form teams and establish fictional companies interested in Mars exploration.

Each team is responsible for developing and testing a prototype rover, forming a company infrastructure, managing a budget, and developing communications and outreach.

The event includes briefings by NASA subject matter experts, information on how to apply for NASA internships, and a tour of NASA’s unique facilities.

The Minority University Research and Education Program, or MUREP funds NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars. MUREP is committed to engaging underrepresented and underserved students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) with authentic learning experiences to sustain a diverse workforce.

With this activity, NASA continues the agency’s tradition of engaging the nation in NASA’s mission and leading an innovative and sustainable program of exploration to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities.

“NCAS not only inspires community college students to advance in STEM fields, but it also opens doors for future careers at NASA NCAS alumni often move on to NASA internships and ultimately enter the NASA workforce. It is rewarding to see the progression of a student from NCAS participant to NASA colleague,” says Torry Johnson, Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Manager.

For additional information, please contact National Community College Aerospace Scholars by email at JSC-NCAS@mail.nasa.gov or by phone at 281-244-0104.