Idaho student accepted for SEES Summer High School Intern Program

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – Meridian student Andrew Gordon will work alongside NASA subject matter experts at this year’s STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) Summer High School Intern Program.

This nationally competitive program is sponsored by NASA, the Texas Space Grant Consortium and the University of Texas at Austin Center for Space Research and is designed for highly-motivated high school students, pulling applicants from across the country. Selected students receive exposure to Earth and space research while learning how to interpret NASA satellite data alongside scientists and engineers.

Gordon was inspired to apply for the SEES internship while participating in a variety of courses through the West Ada School District’s Career & Technical Education (CTE) Program. He will graduate from Renaissance High School’s International Baccalaureate Career Program in 2024. In addition to the SEES internship, Gordon was accepted to take part in the Idaho Science and Aerospace Scholars (ISAS) Summer Academy, a residential summer program that also engages with NASA-developed curriculum. 

"Science and engineering have been an important part of me for my entire life, and I am very excited to have this opportunity to work with NASA on advancing research both in space and on Earth,” Gordon said. “While at SEES, I will be working with the NASA HERA program, which aims to study the effects of living in space on humans while still safely here on Earth. This program is an important step to sending humans further into space, and I am honored to have the opportunity to be a part of it."

SEES interns will work closely with Center for Space Research scientists in analyzing and visualizing data coupled with hands-on STEM activities that allow them to gain experience with authentic NASA research through a combination of field investigation and data analysis.

Interns will first complete distance learning modules before beginning mentor-guided remote work to assist with NASA-supported research on astronomy, remote sensing and global positioning techniques. They will then travel to Texas for an on-site internship at the University of Texas at Austin.

The program wraps with all project teams presenting their research during the Virtual SEES Science Symposium on July 24-26.