South Carolina Treasurer's Office’s Post

It's fascinating to reflect on our childhood career aspirations. As a kid, I dreamed of becoming an astronaut! Visiting NASA in second grade was the highlight of my year. Although I didn't become an astronaut (math wasn't my strongest suit 😊), that dream significantly shaped my professional journey. Our dreams propel us forward and inspire innovation. Whether it's consistently smashing quotas or writing an honors thesis for fun, thinking big is the key to success. What dreams did you have a child? How did that shape you as an adult?  #alwaysbelearning #professionalgrowth #dreambig

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: Spotlight on José Moreno Hernández 🌟 As we commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month, I wanted to shine a spotlight on an extraordinary individual whose accomplishments have left an indelible mark on the field of aerospace engineering and beyond. Join me in celebrating the life and achievements of José Moreno Hernández, an American engineer and former NASA astronaut. Born on August 7, 1962, José Moreno Hernández grew up in a family of migrant farmworkers in Stockton, California. His humble beginnings and perseverance in the face of challenges have made him an inspiration to countless individuals, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds. José's passion for space exploration and his unwavering commitment to pursuing his dreams led him to apply for the NASA Astronaut Corps not once, but eleven times. Undeterred by multiple rejections, he continued to improve his qualifications, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of the Pacific and a Master of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Finally, in 2004, José's persistence paid off, and he was selected as a NASA astronaut candidate. His journey to the stars had begun. In 2009, he made history as the first Mexican-American astronaut to travel to space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-128 mission. José Moreno Hernández's contributions to space exploration extend far beyond his time in orbit. Throughout his career, he has been a staunch advocate for STEM education, particularly in underprivileged communities. STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math. These four fields share an emphasis on innovation, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Recognizing the transformative power of education, he founded the Reaching for the Stars Foundation, which aims to inspire young minds and provide them with educational opportunities in the fields of science and engineering. 🔗 To learn more about José's incredible journey and the importance of education, I encourage you to watch his inspiring "A Note to Myself," by following this link: https://lnkd.in/eCCkAM4A? #HispanicHeritageMonth #Inspiration #STEM #DiversityandInclusion #ReachingfortheStarsFoundation

Victoria DeFazio is a founding team member of the Space Business Association and has been the outreach officer of the SBA since Fall 2022 and became the treasurer in Spring 2024. Victoria will be graduating from the School of Earth and Space Exploration and Barrett, The Honors College with a degree in astrophysics and a minor in Italian. 🌐Testimonial on the Space Business Association: The SBA has given me the opportunity to meet so many amazing industry executives who have helped me grow my professional network. I learned a lot about public speaking, event planning, and student engagement, but the most important thing to me is the family that the SBA officers have become. 🌐Favorite Space Business Association Memory: My favorite SBA memory is probably when Josh and Tim interviewed me for an officer position. I was so nervous and my Zoom crashed twenty times, but little did I know that Josh and Tim are the sweetest and the most fun ever. 🌐Professional Highlights: Victoria completed her thesis on sea turtles in Costa Rican spirituality and conservation this year. Additionally, she is a Quesada Research fellow, Poesiaeuropa fellow, ASU Space Student Ambassador, secretary of Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics, vice president of Association of Women in Physics, and a student researcher at Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. 🎓Plans After Graduation: Victoria is going to be an astronaut! 🎿 Hobbies: Skiing and spending time with friends 🌐How has being a part of the SBA impacted you? Being a part of the SBA has made me more involved in the space community and has made me more aware of the need for space education outreach. 🌐Get Connected: instagram: @victoria.defazio Follow us for more & stay connected with the industry's brightest minds. Together, we'll conquer the final frontier of business! 🌌👩🚀 https://buff.ly/3UKmBSP #SpaceBusinessAssociation #SpaceExploration #SpaceExploration #NASA #SpaceTech #RocketScience #CosmicDiscovery #SpaceScience #SpacePolicy #Astronauts #SpaceIndustry #SpaceInnovation #SpaceEducation #SpaceStartups #AsteroidMining #InterstellarTravel #SpaceArt #HubbleTelescope #Space

📢ATTN: STEM INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS - let’s develop our future astronauts together! 🚀🚀🚀 We have 6 Interns whose #1 dream job is in Aerospace Engineering! Check out this article “An Astronaut’s Guide to Applying to Be an Astronaut - NASA” as told by Anne McClain where she explains how she knew from age three she wanted to be an Astronaut and her dreams to fly in space became reality 36 years later by staying focused! 🚀: https://lnkd.in/gfp4Fwih #SpaceX #NASA #AstronautTraining #futureprofessional #students #mentorship #AerospaceJobs #aerospaceindustry Comment below any contacts you have at any companies to help us launch these Interns into an internship this summer in STEM so they can make their dreams a reality! Book an info session to learn more about working with Interns: https://lnkd.in/gjmcK_Zk Shoot for the moon and you’ll always land in the stars 🌟

I recently visited #NASA's Kennedy Space 🛰 Center in the US. I always thought space research was a waste of public funds 💰 . Why go to the Moon 🌙 , when we have so much to achieve here on Earth 🌏 . But this visit completely changed my view. I had heard many young students imagine themselves being a pilot, but not many thought about being an 👩🚀 astronaut or support space exploration. At NASA, I met a 4 #IITBombay students who were in Flordia for internships that got me thinking, "What made them come here ?". During my visit I realized 3 major things: 1️⃣ NASA unites a symphony of disciplines – all types of #engineers, #mathematicians, #doctors, communicators, and many more disciplines – all working together to achieve the impossible. The countless firsts they have achieved were just inspiring. 2️⃣ I realized how the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts - As a #college #admissions #consultant, I often ask my clients to demonstrate a true collaborative spirit while doing research / passion projects during #HighSchool while exploring their curiosity. This sets the tone not only for strong academic progress - but real life #teamwork skills to extend the boundaries of knowledge. It is this kind of stuff , that got NASA to put a man on the moon! 3️⃣ While the hype for #IvyLeague colleges continues amongst Indian families, I found more students from mid-ranked colleges have joined organizations like #ISRO and #NASA. And they are not there for the money . They are there for taking humanity further than we have ever been and showing what's possible. 🚀 And finally, going back to the funds aspect, I realized that during the #SpaceRace in the 1960's - US spent nearly 4% of their Federal budget on space research, which today stands near 0.5%. For ISRO in India it is below 0.1%. I think sometimes it takes a field visit to shake out preconceived ideas. I recommend trying it out for yourself. I write about #education. Follow me if you found this relevant. Picture: JFK making the announcement at #RiceUniversity stating "We choose to go to the Moon" #STEM #CollegeAdmissions

NASA Has Enlisted 20 Black Astronauts Since Inception — Graduates Andre Douglas And Christopher Williams Are The Latest To Join That Group. 🚀 These new astronauts are “preparing for takeoff” 💨 in NASA’s Astronaut Office. NASA held a graduation ceremony at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, as 10 new graduates, “The Flies,” crossed the stage after completing two years of training, per a news release. Among the graduates are Andre Douglas and Christopher Williams — representing for Black astronauts. The monumental milestone is a dream come true for both Douglas and Williams. According to a Scripps News report, as of January 2023, NASA had enlisted 360 astronauts since inception. The outlet also shared that 18 of them have been Black. As Douglas and Williams have joined the underrepresented group, they aim to be proof and a source of inspiration for young, aspiring Black astronauts that it’s possible. “One of the things I really hope aspiring Black astronauts take away from me being here and my story is that there are people that look like you that can do this job,” Williams said. “I know on the road to being where I am — pretty much my entire professional career before today — I’ve been the only person in the room who’s looked like me. You always feel like you’re blazing a path that nobody else has trodden before, and I think that I’m living proof that people who look like us can end up here.” We love this! 🚀🚀🚀🚀 #breakingnews #news #astronauts #blackastronaughts #blackexcellence #blacksuccess #blacksuccesslife #nasa #nasanews #excellence #winning #successmindset

Very inspirational story of perseverance, resilience, and determination.

The Power of Never Saying No: Pursuing Your Dreams and Aspirations Saying yes to our dreams is not just about reaching lofty goals; it's about embracing the journey—the ups, the downs, and everything in between. It's about stepping outside of our comfort zones, embracing failure as a steppingstone to success, and embracing the endless possibilities that await us on the other side of fear. That is exactly the life lesson that retired astronaut, Colonel Terry Virts, imparted to our students at Feynman School this past week, and one we at Feynman School embrace as a core value. Someone recommended the book The Right Stuff when Terry was in high school, and it changed his life’s trajectory forever. He went through the Air Force Academy and as a test pilot, Terry said that everyone dreams of becoming an astronaut. NASA happened to be seeking a new class of astronauts, and all of Terry’s pilot friends gave into self-doubt saying they were all too young and too inexperienced, but Terry decided to pursue this opportunity, not saying no to his dreams. He kept making it to the next step. 100% of the people around him were telling him he had no chance because other pilots had more experience. Everyone told him for sure he wouldn’t get picked. He ended up being the youngest pilot to get chosen by NASA for the new class of astronauts. Then NASA didn’t open up any slots again for a very long time so all of his friends who had wanted to be astronauts, never had a chance to do it. So, Terry’s lesson to us all is, “Don’t tell yourself no. If you have a dream, tell yourself, yes if…The bigger the dream, the harder it might be to figure out how to get there but the most important first step is never tell yourself no.” #terryvirts #nasa #stemeducation #spaceeducation #heroes #scienceeducation

Be moved and empowered by Scott Simon's interview with Ed Dwight on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday Ed Dwight, the U.S.'s first Black astronaut candidate on making it to space at 90 SIMON: Oh. Mr. Dwight, what can we see from outer space that we could all learn from? DWIGHT: You look at the United States of America. All these states where half of them are red, and the other part are blue. From space, there's no dividing line there. It's all just one mass of Earth. And so why in the world do we have two groups of people that can't get along with each other? It makes no sense. I wish that every single person that was elected to national office is required to take three orbits around this Earth. And you'll see that there is no dividing things between these countries. There's no dividing line between Russia and Ukraine and China and Taiwan. This whole thing is integrated together. And if we don't do something to protect this thing, we can easily destroy it. SIMON: Ed Dwight, who has had a long and extraordinary, multifaceted career and now at the age of 90 is astronaut Ed Dwight. DWIGHT: Oh, boy. I like that (laughter). It's just a few minutes long and so worth your time. #history #equality #space https://lnkd.in/eaeXZDub

Take 5 ⏰ with Marshall team member Jose Matienzo! Growing up in a small village in Puerto Rico, Jose Matienzo would fly paper airplanes and launch model rockets from atop the building he lived in with his family. He never imagined that his passion would lead to a career at NASA. Matienzo plans to retire soon following his 42nd year working with NASA and #NASAMarshall. Before that day comes, we got a chance to ask him a few questions 👇 Question: What excites you most about the future of human space exploration and your team’s role in it? Matienzo: I’ve been here for a long time and our future missions and goals have changed over the years. But no matter what, there’s always been excitement about meeting the agency’s goals and Marshall’s role in providing space transportation, lunar landers, and even Mars sample return vehicles. That and all of the support and testing work that comes with it is fun! Question: Who or what drives/motivates you? Matienzo: I’ve been lucky that my job assignments have always been fun and self-motivating, but certainly dealing and coordinating with colleagues in accomplishing a mutual goal, test, or assignment is very rewarding. Question: What advice do you have for employees early in their NASA career or those in new leadership roles? Matienzo: Network! As you get to know others and learn what they do, you will find out how everything comes together at NASA and where other opportunities may be out there for you. For our leaders: keep encouraging, mentoring, and creating opportunities for the employees to experience, learn, and grow.