Trip to Houston

by Marie Therese Murphy.
Scholarship 2001 Winner

Its not everyday that a seventeen year old school girl gets the once in a lifetime opportunity to spend three weeks in Houston, Texas and mix with astronauts and students from all over the world, but that was the opportunity afforded to me last summer. In order to win the trip I had to complete a physics exam and then do an interview in the school. The exam was really tough and the interview was nerve-wracking but the feeling I got when I was chosen to go was so great that all the nerves and hard work were worth it. I had been chosen to represent Ireland along with Robert Reynolds from St Colmans in the International Space school in Houston. We would spend two and a half weeks in Houston and attend the international space school - it sounded like it would be an amazing experience but it was even better than I had expected.

On the 26th July 2001, we set off for Houston from Cork airport. We first went to London where we met up with the team leaders - Chris and Claire - from Wales and the other students from Great Britain and France. From our first nervous hellos it was hard to imagine that we would become such close friends in two and a half weeks. We arrived in Houston after a ten-hour flight, tired but happy and met up with the rest of the students who would be participating in the Space School. We then had the hour long bus trip to Geoff Mules' house. Geoff, originally from Wales, built up a successful construction business in America. He wanted to share his success with young people so he established the International Space School. It started with just a couple of students from a school in Wales and grew each year. Last year there were 38 students. We spent the bus journey chatting as if we had known each other for years. We were all exhausted but meeting everybody seemed to give us all a new burst of energy.

Throughout the two and a half weeks I experienced events that I know I will probably never experience again. During the first weekend we spent the time getting to know our host families. Adriana (Wales), Sagini (Canada) and I stayed with the Olivers - Steve, Betsy and their son, August. Their generosity was fantastic and from the moment we arrived they went out of their way to make us feel like part of the family. Their house was gorgeous and the almost unbearable heat and humidity was made slightly easier by the fact that they had a pool in the back garden. The impressions I got of American family life was that the parents seemed to want to be friends with their children rather than enforcers. Steve and August got on really well and shared a lot of the same interests including sports and films. In America they also eat out a lot more than we do here in Ireland. We only had dinner once at home so I experienced a wide variety of American restaurants.

Throughout the first week we visited numerous different places. We went to the Moody gardens, Space Centre Houston, on a cruise and a variety of other places. We were looked after really well everywhere we went and all our needs were catered for. One of the highlights of the week was our trip to the theme park Astro World. It was really hot that day but we all thoroughly enjoyed the day. Each day for the first week we also had a talk from a different speaker including astronauts, technicians etc. We took notes during these meetings, which would help us with our project the following week. We had to get up early every morning and we didn't go to bed until late so by the time the weekend came around we were exhausted. The first week was really enjoyable and we were really starting to bond as a group.

During the second weekend we had a cultural night. The representatives of every country each produced a national dish and performed a party piece. Robert and I and the two students from Northern Ireland - Grainne and Gary - sang together. The night was a great success and everyone had a great time. During the weekend I was also given the opportunity to attend a Destiny's Child concert. The host family next door had spare tickets so Adriana, Sagini and I were able to go - it was a great addition to the trip.

The second week was totally different from the first. We were given a project to do by a director from Nasa. Our project was to design a Mission to Mars. We were divided into four teams and each person was given a specific job to do. My position was International Relations and funding Officer. We worked really hard for the week with the help of our mentors and on our graduation night we presented our project to all our host families, sponsors, mentors and Nasa representatives. We had a great night and we were presented with our Certificates. It was also quite an emotional night together as a group. We spent a lot of the night in tears, swapping addresses and promising to stay in touch. I found it amazing how we had become so close over such a short period of time.

There were so many highlights during my stay in Houston but some really stand out. The graduation night was definitely one of the best nights, as by that stage we had all become close friends. Another one of the highlights was during the first week when we performed two simulated missions to the moon. They were great team building exercises as we had to work hard together to survive. We succeeded in getting to the moon the first time, however, unfortunately we ran out of oxygen during the second mission! We also had a great day the first Sunday we arrived as we had a pool party in a sponsor's house. The house was huge and had a number of pools. Caterers served us food and we had a singsong in the hot tub. It was an amazing experience and really helped us to get to know each other.

The two and a half weeks I spent in Houston were so amazing that it is hard to put into words how great an opportunity it was. It made me see that it is possible for anyone to work in Nasa no matter where you're from or what your particular talents are. The people who work in Nasa are many and varied and come from all over the world. I would like to thank everybody who helped in anyway to give me the opportunity to go to Houston. It was all in all an amazing once in a lifetime opportunity and I'd go again tomorrow if I could!

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