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Upward Bound (6/10/2004)
I spent Thursday in Duluth, at St. Scholastica College's Upward
Bound program. Upward Bound is a program aimed at prospective
first-generation college students and other at-risk high school
kids. They have regular meetings during the school year with coaches
to help them prepare for college, and they attend a six-week-long
residential program every summer, during which they take college
prep courses, and are introduced to a wide range of interesting
topics, including, this year, rockets!
The winds were screaming at 25 knots, so unfortunately we
couldn't launch anything, but I gave two presentations, each an hour
and a half long, and showed off a variety of rockets ranging from
MicroMaxx to the Quantum Leap and Tethys. The morning session was
attended by about 70 incoming High School Sophomores, Juniors, and
Seniors, and the afternoon session was attended by about 30 more of
them, all of whom were enrolled in a Math and Science special
interest program. I used the Sport Rocketry pitch that's posted
under resources on the Rocket League site).
These kids were a trip to talk to--they were eager to learn, and
asked a LOT of interesting questions. I did have to disappoint one
kid a bit; she asked how I got the job to be paid by Honeywell to
build rockets and talk to kids about them. (Wouldn't that be a neat
job!)
When I left, the kids were all lobbying their program leaders for
a rocket building session next week
[Ted Cochran]
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