Victoria Harrelson will spend the summer at a familiar hangout, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Harrelson, a junior from Lafayette majoring in elementary education, will work as a counselor at the rocket center小蝌蚪APP檚 Space Camp from mid-May to mid-August.
The educational camp is where in summers past she fell in love with space exploration, landed a significant role in the Emmy-nominated documentary 小蝌蚪APP淭he Mars Generation,小蝌蚪APP and figured out she wanted to be a teacher.
The U.S. Space and Rocket Center, which is operated by the state of Alabama, sits near NASA小蝌蚪APP檚 Marshall Space Flight Center. The rocket center was launched in 1970 to showcase the country小蝌蚪APP檚 space program, and offers educational camps for children and adults throughout the year. Its summer Space Camp for children is designed to engage them in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, activities.
Harrelson小蝌蚪APP檚 duties as a counselor will include providing instruction about space exploration, and conducting simulated missions and training exercises.
She小蝌蚪APP檒l lead based on experience. Harrelson first attended Space Camp at age 13, although somewhat reluctantly. She tagged along only at the urging of a persistent cousin.
小蝌蚪APP淚 remember that first night being like, 小蝌蚪APP業 don小蝌蚪APP檛 want anything to do with this,小蝌蚪APP櫺◎蝌紸PP Harrelson said.
She quickly changed her mind. 小蝌蚪APP淚 wound up just falling in love with space and really started growing as a person and learning about teamwork and becoming a leader.小蝌蚪APP
Harrelson returned to the camp four times while in middle school and high school. During her third summer there, when she was 15, Harrelson landed a role in the Emmy-nominated Netflix documentary 小蝌蚪APP淭he Mars Generation.小蝌蚪APP The documentary, which was filmed in 2015, features astronauts and other space experts who weigh in about the future of space exploration.
Its true stars, according to The New York Times, are the 小蝌蚪APP渂rilliant, space-obsessed teens, who take part in special camps designed to simulate what it might be like to travel to and even live on Mars.小蝌蚪APP Harrelson has a significant role, appearing throughout the more than hour and a half film. She小蝌蚪APP檚 shown engaging in Space Camp activities, interacting with peers and being interviewed.
The role earned Harrelson a paid trip to the Sundance Film Festival in January 2017 in St. Lake City, Utah, where 小蝌蚪APP淭he Mars Generation小蝌蚪APP premiered. It was released that May on Netflix, where it小蝌蚪APP檚 currently available for livestreaming.
小蝌蚪APP淭he entire experience was really just very cool, and very humbling,小蝌蚪APP Harrelson said.
Harrelson also decided on a career at Space Camp. In summer 2019, during her first stint as a camp counselor, she realized she wanted to teach while watching children 小蝌蚪APP渉ave aha moments when they would understand a new concept.小蝌蚪APP
Harrelson anticipates earning her bachelor小蝌蚪APP檚 degree in Spring 2023. Her future students, however, will only learn about space if it小蝌蚪APP檚 subject matter included in the pages of fiction.
A lifelong reader, she plans to teach English.
小蝌蚪APP淓ducation had always been a little bug in my ear, but I honestly never realized I could be a leader until Space Camp. The more I thought about it, the more I was like, 小蝌蚪APP楾his is what I need to do, help kids find out who they are and where they小蝌蚪APP檙e supposed to go,小蝌蚪APP櫺◎蝌紸PP Harrelson explained.
Learn more about the and the Netflix documentary
Photo caption: Victoria Harrelson will return to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, this summer to work as a camp counselor. She attended the educational camp regularly as a teenager, including in summer 2015 (shown above), when she landed a role in the Emmy-nominated Netflix documentary 小蝌蚪APP淭he Mars Generation.小蝌蚪APP Submitted photo