Ayrshire pupil spends a summer with NASA
An 11-year-old pupil from Wellington School took one giant leap towards her dream career, with an out of this world work experience placement at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Lillie McCluskie was invited to spend the summer in Texas with Sarah Murray, NASA’s Deputy for Vehicle Systems Performance & Analysis.
The pair met at Ayrshire College’s Mission Discovery programme last year, supported by many local partners including the Ayrshire College Foundation, and Sarah was so impressed with Lillie’s attitude, knowledge and work ethic that they kept in touch once Sarah had returned to the United States.
Now Sarah has given Lillie an inside look at her dream job, with a summer placement at NASA’s Johnson Space Center – where they conduct human spaceflight training, research, and flight control.
Last year’s Mission Discovery Ayrshire programme was the third week-long space school at Ayrshire College delivered to secondary school pupils from East, North and South Ayrshire by the International Space School Educational Trust (ISSET).
Sarah was part of a four-person strong ISSET team that also included NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, ISSET’s Chief Scientist Julie Keeble and ISSET founder Chris Barber.
The pupils – who were working in mixed teams throughout the week – were all aged 15, 16 or 17. Except for one: then 10-year-old Lillie McCluskie.
Fi McClelland, manager of the Scottish Dark Sky Observatory, wrote to Ayrshire College asking for special dispensation for Lillie to join the programme. She said that Lillie, who volunteers at the Scottish Dark Sky Observatory, is obsessed with all things space and has dreams of becoming an astronaut. The College agreed on the basis that she was chaperoned at all times.
Lillie not only enjoyed the week-long space programme but she also contributed massively to her team’s project.
The teams designed space experiments, knowing that the winning idea would be launched into space and tested by astronauts at the International Space Station. Although Lillie’s team did not win the grand prize, she impressed the ISSET team with her ideas and presentation skills alongside pupils up to 7 years older than her.
Since the Ayrshire College programme Lillie has had an amazing year: she’s recorded a podcast for CBeebies radio about telescopes, she’s working with an astronomer to develop resources to teach blind children about astronomy, and she has been asked to appear in a marketing programme about astronomy.
Now she’s enjoyed a perfect summer in Houston with Sarah Murray at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Lillie said: “I feel like the luckiest girl in the world! Spending time with all the astronauts was a dream come true. I kept having to pinch myself to make sure it was real. I’m incredibly grateful to Sarah for all the amazing opportunities she gave me and can’t wait to go back to Houston next year!”
14 August 2019
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