CSU Student Spends "A Day on The Hill" to Promote Space Exploration and Discovery
Christina Watanuki’s boundless enthusiasm for space exploration and aerospace engineering has provided her with several unique opportunities as an undergraduate at Colorado State University.
One of those opportunities was the chance to meet in Washington, D.C. with members of the U.S. Congress and share her excitement about the Colorado Space Grant Consortium (COSGC). Sponsored by NASA, the COSGC provides students the opportunity to design and test space engineering and science experiments through innovative courses and real-world experiences.
Christina and Jessica Gage, a student at the University of Northern Colorado, were selected by the COSGC to spend “A Day on The Hill” talking to senators and representatives about how the Space Grant program is helping them reach their educational and career goals. They met with Congresswoman Betsy Markey and Congressmen John Salazar, Ed Perlmutter, Doug Lamborn, as well as staff members working with Representative Diana DeGette and Senators Michael Bennett and Mark Udall, seeking their support of an increased budget for the program in 2010. Participating schools match every dollar received from the government to help support the program.
The visits were scheduled as part of the National Council of Space Grant Directors meeting, where Dr. Leon Lederman, the Nobel Prize Winner in Physics, was a featured speaker. Christina and Jessica spoke with Dr. Lederman about his books and the principles behind them. “It was an amazing opportunity to spend that kind of time with an amazing scientist and supporter of the program,” said Christina.
“This trip gave me a newfound appreciation of the program and all that it has to offer schools around the country. A lot of work goes into getting funding for schools and advancing interests in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).”
Christina has enjoyed other benefits of the Space Grant Consortium. Last summer she participated in the CSU DemoSat summer internship program, working with a team of students to design, construct, test, and then launch a payload on a high altitude balloon. She also attended the RockOn Workshop at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia in summer 2008, where she learned the basics of rocket payloads. As a member of CSU’s first RocketSAT team, she helped develop a “rack” for future rocket payloads; the team is now creating the computer, power system, mechanical support and interfaces for future missions.
She has her sights set on a job with an aerospace or aeronautics company after she graduates this fall. “I see value in the space program because space is never ending,” Christina explains. “The possibilities in discovery are truly endless and the ways of getting there will always be evolving and requiring new innovative engineering.”