Gotta HUNCH They're Headed to Houston...

Each year, engineering students at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School, guided by their dedicated instructor Kristen Magas, participate in the prestigious NASA HUNCH (High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware) Program. This program inspires and empowers high school students through a hands-on, Project-Based Learning approach, equipping them with 21st-century skills and real-world experience in designing and fabricating products for NASA.

This year, twenty-four engineering juniors showcased their talents at the Northeast Regional HUNCH Critical Design Review held at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Presenting their final designs and prototypes to NASA representatives and industry professionals, four of our student teams earned the distinction of being selected as finalists. These exceptional teams have been invited to the HUNCH Final Showcase at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas in April.

During their time in Houston, students will tour the JSC Mission Control Center and the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility, guided by Tri-County engineering alumnus and current International Space Station flight controller, Ethan Mace. Additionally, they hope to visit the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) facility, where their instructor, Kristen Magas, served as an analog astronaut during a simulated Mars mission this past fall.

These engineering students have worked diligently since September to refine their prototypes and implement the engineering design process. They also sought funding from the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium, successfully securing grant money to support their travels. Last week, the student groups proudly presented their innovative products to parents and peers, showcasing their expertise, dedication, and creativity.

The students heading to Houston to showcase their projects in the Health & Biomedical Science areas are Sophie Anderson, Colleen Layton, and Rebecca Hall (biodegradable packaging of medications project); Vincenzo Gaybor, Michael Love, Amy Manzanarez, and Adison Sobczak (mental health in space project); Rhys Beck and Bernardo Martinez de Freitas (medical inventory with facial recognition project).

The students heading to Houston to showcase their projects in the Design & Prototyping areas are Riley Heney, Nathan O'Connell, and Kyleigh Weddeke (lunar landing legs project).

This remarkable journey highlights the hard work and achievements of our engineering students and their bright futures in the STEM field.