My Nonprofit Reviews

I discovered Virginia Space Flight Academy last November in 2022. I was looking for new ways to use my creativity and innovation that I wasn't quite able to use as effectively as a public-school teacher. I was extremely impressed with their website and their mission! VASFA hosted a Space Adventure Camp, which helps to promote STEM engagement using hands-on learning. In addition, it was associated with being near and on a NASA base. I became very interested in this opportunity, and I knew this was the opportunity of a lifetime! I made a bold move to email my resume and cover letter to the current Executive Director, Kim Check, and I got an email back saying that she wanted to talk with me. I was extremely impressed with our conversation! Kim was very knowledgeable about VASFA and STEM engagement, and she was also open to new ideas that I presented to her during our first meeting as well! I spoke with her about adding a Video Game module to their year-round online STEM Academy through Bloxels. I tried implementing this through other avenues, however it wasn't successful. But Kim was very open to that opportunity, and she was very quick to acknowledge that this is something that can help expand our outreach! She wanted to put me in touch with VASFA's NASA STEM Engagement Specialist, Geoff Bergen. I ended up connecting with Geoff as well a few weeks later in December 2022. I also presented the Video Game module idea through using Bloxels to him, and he loved it! He wanted to get to work right away on it, and he and I collaborated on bringing this idea to life!

I worked with Kim after the New Year on organizing major aspects of the 2023 Space Adventure Camp! I also continued my collaboration with Geoff on our Video Game module! Through my work with them, Kim and Geoff are the best people I have ever worked with! They are not only very knowledgeable, but they are professional, courteous, and they like to DREAM BIG just like me! My thoughts about STEM Education were strongly in alignment with what VASFA is promoting! The best thing that Kim and Geoff like to promote at VASFA is that grades don't matter; learning growth through hands-on learning is more important because grades don't define who someone is! VASFA is on a mission to expand access to innovative learning experiences, career pathways, and mentorship to create opportunities and increase interest in STEM careers. Kim and Geoff have allowed me to use my imagination and creativity in ways that I never even knew were possible! Thanks to VASFA's hard work, we were the recipient of the Spirit of Virginia Award, and the First Lady of Virginia, Suzanne Youngkin, said that, "Training young Virginians to ‘shoot for the stars’ is happening right here at the Virginia Space Flight Academy". It was a DREAM of mine to work at a place associated with NASA, and thanks to Kim, Geoff, VASFA's founders, and all of the VASFA board members, I've gotten exposed to many of VASFA's different aerospace companies/partners that are destined to achieve the greatest success like VASFA! VASFA helps to expose students to multiple different highways of opportunity in STEM engagement! VASFA is for anybody who has a dream in STEM! VASFA has a special place in my heart, and I will do whatever it takes through my work in STEM engagement, to not only help get the word out about VASFA to everyone I know, but I want to help launch future STEM dreams! Thank you VASFA for the dream of a lifetime, and now I'm dreaming even bigger!