185: Amanda Gutierrez is Going to the Moon and the ISS (before she graduates High School)

Amanda Gutierrez knows the exact moment she fell in love with space. She was in 2nd grade. That moment, along with others since, have made such a strong impression on Amanda that she’s already defined her career goal- to become an aerospace engineer and ultimately go to space. Since she’s a junior in high school, she’ll have to go to college first, but she won’t have to wait for college to get to space- her stories are already going. Amanda is THE NASA award winner for the Artemis Moon Pod Essay Contest! Her story is currently on NASA’s Artemis 1 mission circling the moon! AND, Amanda is an official STORIES of Space Project Ambassador, where her story will ALSO be traveling to the International Space Station (along with all other STORIES of Space submissions) on a scheduled launch in June of 2023. Good news, you don’t have to go to space to hear Amanda’s story- you can hear it right here on this week’s episode of Casual Space!  About Amanda:  Amanda Gutierrez is a junior at Pius X High School in Lincoln, Nebraska. She was selected as the winner (high school division) of the NASA and Future Engineers Artemis Moon Pod Essay Contest from over 14,000 entries. Amanda is actively involved in Million Girls Moonshot, a national organization that works to engage one million girls in STEM learning opportunities across the United States. She is a member of the Nebraska Million Girls Moonshot board through the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, and is part of the national MGM Flight Crew.  She has spoken as panelist at the SXSW EDU 2022 Conference, and co-hosted the national 2022 Afterschool Alliance "Lights on Afterschool" town hall event. She is also a youth speaker for NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, and has been featured on Space.com, NPR’s Blue Dot, and other local and national media. Amanda plans to study aerospace engineering in college and someday become an astronaut. Amanda also dances competitively.  Here's the direct link to Amanda's award-winning essay: https://www.futureengineers.org/artemismoonpodessay/gallery/42918 Videos  Your heart will melt with these NASA Essay Finalists shared in these videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8sR4Mt3f9k NASA Astronaut Interview and Semifinalist Announcement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w4v5tyMYcE