Community college students across the U.S. now have another opportunity to discover how their education can lead to fulfilling roles at the forefront of aerospace, science, engineering, and technology. The updated NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) student challenge invites students to learn about the agency and its missions, engage with NASA experts, and explore aerospace jobs while competing for monetary awards.
The applications period is currently open. The deadline to register is Monday, Sept. 28.
“What makes this opportunity unique is that it’s one of few that is specifically for community college students,” said Alicia Baturoni Cortez, project manager for NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project, which administers NCAS. “The NCAS student challenge is designed to meet their needs and broaden their career awareness so they can either go right into the workforce or expand their goals to include a four-year degree in STEM.”
A launch pad for new possibilities
For NASA interns Kim Alexander and Ashley Rodriguez, NCAS became an unexpected springboard from community college to new careers.
After eight years as a bartender, Alexander was looking for a way to launch her career. She enrolled at Riverside Community College in Riverside, California, originally intending to pursue graphic design – but fell in love with math instead. Alexander participated in NCAS hoping it would look good on her resume and university transfer application. She ended up on a winning team that designed a human mission to Mars. The experience influenced her entire career trajectory.
“I was just completely overwhelmed by how amazing the program was,” said Alexander, who went on to participate in other NASA student opportunities. “But NCAS was the most monumental, because I really started thinking, ‘Hey, I could pursue a career in this. This is feasible.’”
Rodriguez grew up in South Florida, where she watched space shuttle launches but never considered a career at NASA. Instead, she gained experience in various roles and was parenting a toddler by the time she went back to school at Miami-Dade Community College seeking an IT degree. That’s where she first heard about NCAS, which ultimately set her on a path to a career in strategic communications.
“I did an infographic on laser relay communications. I knew nothing about it, then I felt like a pro by the end.”
Ashley Rodriguez
NASA Intern
The experience showed her the importance of strategic communications at NASA and helped her to discover a field she enjoys.
In January 2024, Rodriguez and Alexander started NCAS-funded NASA internships in the agency’s Aerosciences Evaluation and Test Capabilities Portfolio Office, where they met their mentor, Data and Analytics Manager Erik Lopez.
Today, both have earned university degrees and are starting NASA Pathways internships that could lead directly to full-time NASA employment. Rodriguez is working as a strategic communications intern in the Engineering Performance Management Office at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, while Alexander is beginning an engineering role supporting the Flight Demonstrations and Capabilities Project at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
“They were the first two NCAS alumni interns; they literally onboarded together,” Lopez said. “And the fact that they now both get to come back to the agency as Pathways interns just brings me so much joy.”
NCAS relaunches with updated mission, prize potential
Stories like Alexander’s and Rodriguez’s illustrate the impact NCAS can have, and underscore why the program’s updated mission aims to reach even more community college students.
This school year, NCAS is launching with a two-part mission. The cohort phase, which runs through fall, calls on students to participate in live virtual experiences with NASA experts and submit materials detailing a connection between their current coursework and a role at NASA. Faculty members are key to encouraging students who might not envision themselves in a NASA role. Up to 1,000 submissions will be eligible for a $500 award.
Those who successfully complete this phase will be invited to take part in the next phase, a spring virtual NCAS career fair linking them to experts and industry career opportunities. Upon completion of the career fair, students may submit additional materials for prizes of $250, for up to 500 of the top submissions.
“What NCAS does is bring the stars down to ground level. It allows students a risk-free exploration of what could be.”
Alicia Baturoni Cortez
Project Manager, NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project
To explore NCAS timelines and eligibility requirements and take your education to the next level, visit: https://nasa-ncas.org/student-overview/
Facts Only
* The deadline to register for the NCAS student challenge is Monday, September 28th.
* The NCAS program targets community college students.
* Alicia Baturoni Cortez manages the Minority University Research and Education Project which administers NCAS.
* The cohort phase involves virtual experiences with NASA experts and submissions detailing connections between coursework and a role at NASA.
* Up to 1,000 submissions are eligible for a $500 award in the cohort phase.
* Successful completion of the cohort phase leads to participation in a spring virtual NCAS career fair.
* Submissions for the career fair may qualify for additional prizes of $250 for up to 500 top entries.
* Kim Alexander and Ashley Rodriguez began NCAS-funded NASA internships in January 2024.
* Rodriguez worked on an infographic about laser relay communications.
* Alexander began an engineering role at the Armstrong Flight Research Center.
* Rodriguez works as a strategic communications intern at the Kennedy Space Center.
Executive Summary
The NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) student challenge is open for applications, with a registration deadline of Monday, September 28th. The program aims to expose community college students to NASA missions, provide engagement with experts, and explore aerospace careers through monetary awards. This opportunity is specifically targeted at community college students to broaden their career awareness, facilitating pathways toward either immediate workforce entry or pursuing a four-year STEM degree.
The program has demonstrated tangible results for participants. Interns Kim Alexander and Ashley Rodriguez participated in NCAS and subsequently secured NASA internships. Alexander's experience led her to pursue a career path influenced by designing a human mission to Mars. Rodriguez gained exposure to strategic communications after working on an infographic about laser relay communications. Both interns later transitioned into NASA Pathways internships, leading to roles at the Kennedy Space Center and the Armstrong Flight Research Center, respectively. The program employs a two-part mission: a cohort phase involving virtual experiences for up to 1,000 submissions, followed by a spring virtual career fair for further opportunities.
Full Take
The narrative demonstrates a successful mechanism for bridging disparate educational paths by creating high-leverage, experiential entry points into high-demand STEM fields. The impact of NCAS is less about providing direct job placement and more about catalyzing internal self-discovery—Alexander moved from considering graphic design to recognizing feasibility in engineering; Rodriguez moved from general interest to specialization in strategic communications within aerospace. This suggests the value lies not in the awards themselves, but in the exposure to agency work which recontextualizes academic knowledge into tangible, high-level professional domains.
The structure of the program—moving students from coursework alignment (cohort) to expert linkage (career fair)—establishes a clear pathway where risk assessment is mitigated by structured experience. The shift from traditional degree pursuit to career exploration demonstrates how institutional engagement can overcome self-imposed boundaries regarding perceived career possibilities, effectively democratizing access to aerospace knowledge. The pattern suggests that when students are connected to aspirational goals and expert mentorship simultaneously, cognitive inertia related to potential career paths dissolves into concrete feasibility.
What assumptions underpin the success of this model? It assumes that abstract exposure to NASA missions translates directly into actionable, desirable career trajectories for diverse student populations. A crucial implication is whether institutions can effectively leverage such programs to shift long-term educational goals, rather than just provide a short-term resume boost. How does this experiential learning scale beyond these two successful case studies to address the broader challenge of STEM pipeline development across all community college students?