Whittier students had the rare opportunity to take a private tour at one of the most exclusive places on the planet, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The tour was made possible by JPL Deputy Division Manager of Mission Systems and Operations Elizabeth Kay-Im ’89.
Once the students arrived at JPL’s campus in Pasadena, they were given a brief introduction into some of the technology and work that the lab does. During the tour, they got up close with some of the robots used for space exploration, including the Mars rover Curiosity, which has the letters JPL in Morse code cut out on the wheels as a nod to its creators.
“Space has always fascinated me and I attended the tour to learn in person what it's like to work for a company which performs dozens of missions in space,” said physics major Bryceton Scurr ’19. “I also wanted to see if there were any opportunities for civil engineers for me to watch out for in the next few years.”
Poets also took a glimpse at JPL’s upcoming mission, Mars 2020. Overlooking a sterile zone through a glass pane, the students observed engineers wearing white suits that covered them from head to toe as they worked on a spacecraft that will explore the red planet.
“It was one of the best experiences I've had as a student of Whittier College,” said Spencer VanDerStarren ’20. “My mind was blown multiple times, and I left feeling very inspired.”
At the end of the tour, Kay-Im spoke with the students and shared her journey from Whittier to JPL. She told the students that it was her liberal arts education that taught her to think outside the box – a skill that helped her carve her career path.
