Jayla Edwards may have been singing “Somewhere over the Rainbow” this fall, but her goals go far above the rainbow.
The Liberty High School senior, who played Dorothy in the Liberty Performing Arts’ fall production of “The Wizard of Oz,” has taken part in two highly selective experiences that are helping her pursue her career goal of being an aerospace engineer with NASA.
Edwards was one of 95 students, of more than 2,000 applicants, chosen for the NASA’s Science Mission Directorate STEM Enhancement in Earth Science, or SEES, high school
internship program onsite at the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Space Research.
“It was great getting to meet a bunch of people from all around the country with similar interests to mine,” she said.
Her experience there led to an even more exclusive opportunity. She was one of 12 students, of the more than 200 total SEES interns, who were invited to the OSIRIS REx VIP reveal event at
NASA Johnson Space Center in October. The selection of students was based on the program mentors’ recommendations as well as the students’ ability to be ambassadors for the SEES program, Edwards said.
She spoke to Radio Chatskill’s Tim Bruno.