December 21, 2006

BCC Student Accepted
Into NASA Sponsored Program

-Michelle Girard Is First BCC Student To Ever Enter NASA Ambassador Program-

(TOWN OF DICKINSON, NY) Broome Community College President Dr. Laurence Spraggs today announced that Michelle Girard has been accepted into a NASA program starting in January 2007.

Girard will serve as a Solar System Ambassador volunteer, which is an outreach program managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. The JPL is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) lead field center for the robotic exploration of the Solar System.

Ms. Girard was notified of her acceptance into the program in a one-page letter from Kay Ferrari, Coordinator of the Solar System Ambassadors Program, on December 7, 2006.

“We are pleased to welcome you into our family as a representative to your local community sharing the excitement of space exploration and our latest discoveries with the general public,” said Kay Ferrari, Coordinator for the Solar System Ambassadors Program. “The Solar System Ambassadors Advisory Board and I are very excited to have you join us and look forward to another successful year for the Solar System Ambassadors program.”

“When I learned that I was accepted into the program I was very exited because it has been a dream of mine to be accepted into and work for NASA family,” said Michelle Girard. “This is a great personal accomplishment and I am so grateful and proud. While this doesn’t mean I will work for NASA on a full time basis, becoming part of the NASA family takes me one step closer to my dream and that means a lot to me.”

Girard is a 31-year old sophomore who is currently enrolled in the Science and Engineering Programs at the College. This is Girard’s first time applying to the program and she is the first BCC student ever to be accepted into the program.

“Many of the best and brightest students from around the region attend BCC and Michelle Girard is a shining of example of the high caliber of students that are currently enrolled,” said President Dr. Laurence Spraggs. “Michelle brings distinction to this institution and her instructors. BCC is an excellent starting point for traditional and non-traditional students and Michelle is one of many examples of students who achieve much success after they graduate.”

Girard is scheduled to graduate from BCC in the fall of 2007. After graduation Girard plans to transfer to Cornell and study astrophysics and aerospace engineering. Girard says her career goals include working for NASA or the Air Force as an engineer or astrophysicists for a related research program. Astrophysicists are individuals who design Space Shuttles and study quantum physics to study how far a space shuttle will travel.

On Friday, January 26, from 6 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Girard will host a presentation and give a lecture on Astro-dynamics and its related applications at the Kopernik Observatory in Vestal. . Astro-dynamics is the science and math involved with putting a rocket in orbit.

Girard will begin the Solar System Ambassador Program in Spring 2007.