In grade school, Douglas Neal dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Today, the teen-ager works side-by-side with engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., where he's building the foundation for his new career goals.
A student at Lee High School in Huntsville, Neal is among 22 Huntsville-area high school seniors participating in NASA's Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (SHARP).
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, SHARP is designed to strengthen and diversify the pool of future math, science and engineering professionals. As summer apprentices, the students earn a salary, conduct meaningful research and participate in educational activities.
"I hoped that working with engineers in the workplace would give me a feel for what I wanted to do," said Neal. His hope has paid off. Neal has set aside his astronaut aspirations and is now determined to become an electrical engineer or meteorologist.
Neal and other students in the program work eight weeks with a NASA mentor in a specific area of science or technology. "I am lucky to have my own 'personal engineer' to introduce me to engineering and give me the hands-on experience of an engineer's life," said Daniell Hawk of Hazel Green High School in Hazel Green, Ala. "I won't have to wait until I become an engineer to see what it's like."
Another apprentice, Amber Dickens of Bob Jones High School in Madison, Ala., is spending part of her summer working on life support systems for the International Space Station -- the largest multi-national space construction effort in history. "My mentor has taken me to see the support system equipment, and I will be helping with a test of one of the hardware subsystems for water recovery on the Space Station," she said. "It will be a great opportunity to see the things that will be going into space."
For LaVeda Frazier, a fascination with new technology led her to SHARP. "I have always loved learning about computers and other electronic devices," said the student at Huntsville's Johnson High School. "The SHARP program will give me the opportunity to learn more. SHARP also will help me make my final decision about what type of engineer I would like to be."
Is the program effective? For a case study of what SHARP can do in setting the stage for success, consider the example of Marshall Center attorney Audrey Robinson. A 1982 graduate of Oakwood Academy in Huntsville, she spent the summer of 1981 as a SHARP apprentice at Marshall.
"I was 16 years old when SHARP gave me my first experience in a real-world working environment," said Robinson. "It gave me a chance to learn how to be a professional and opened doors to other opportunities."
Those "other opportunities" include completion of a bachelor's degree in chemistry, a master's degree in management and a law degree -- along with real-world experience as a NASA engineer at Marshall, then as an attorney at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., before returning to Marshall as an attorney.
SHARP is a competitive apprenticeship program. Since 1980, more than 2,700 high school students have participated in the program at NASA facilities nationwide, and more than 2,800 NASA employees have served as SHARP mentors. About 90 percent of SHARP apprentices go on to graduate from college.
The SHARP program at Marshall is managed by the Education Programs Department. This year's apprenticeships continue through July 28.