By Mikayla Wiseman
As a child, Sophie Stillwell remembers her mother pointing out shooting stars to her in the night sky.
Sophie couldn’t see them herself, but she still made a wish anyway.
“I can’t see the stars, but I still want to study them.”
Sophie’s nose is, quite literally, always stuck in a book. When she paints, she has to get up close and personal with her canvas to see details. Being legally blind, her vision is limited to just a few inches from her eyes – which makes the distant stars largely out of sight for her.
Even so, she believes they’re still within her reach.
As Sophie weighed her college options, she knew her passion for astronomy was leading her to a future amongst the stars. With that dream in her heart, she landed at Salisbury University to study astronomy and astrophysics.
“It’s still on my bucket list to see the stars,” Sophie said. “I feel like I’m in the right place for that.”
SU has a long history with NASA. Many students have interned at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, VA. In 2021, eight SU students designed and built a ThinSat that was launched from Wallops for delivery to the International Space Station, to gauge thunderstorm impacts and weather phenomena. SU has collaborated with Wallops on other initiatives, including a study of the effects of microgravity on metastasizing cancer cells.
Many SU alumni have gone on to distinguished careers with NASA, including at the Goddard Space Flight Center and NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Two SU art students have designed mission patches flown to the International Space Station – something of interest to Sophie, who is an artist as well as a budding astronomer.
It’s still on my bucket list to see the stars. I feel like I’m in the right place for that.”
– Sophie Stillwell
In spring 2024, students gathered outside Henson Science Hall to look to the sky and view the solar eclipse.
Hearing about these stories encourages Sophie that the future she dreams of is within reach. Hoping to one day do research at NASA, attend graduate school and study black holes, Sophie knows that SU’s connections and research opportunities are exactly what she needs to turn her vision into reality.
“It’s so cool to hear about all the opportunities ahead of me,” Sophie said. “It feels more real, like I can do this. The further I go in my college experience, the more excited I get feeling that this is a real thing.”
Sophie feels as if she has always been reaching for something – the stars, a dream, something greater than herself. In fact, a common theme in her paintings is the silhouette of a girl reaching out.
There is a lot about the universe we don’t know or fully understand – shooting stars, black holes, far-off galaxies. But to people who always have their eyes toward the skies, that’s what makes it so miraculous.
“The universe is so vast and filled with wonders,” she said. “When you think about it, it’s kind of amazing that it even exists.”
Being in her first year at SU, Sophie isn’t quite sure how her journey will go yet. It’s like painting a canvas; she doesn’t know what the final picture will look like, but she is laying down color, one brush stroke at a time.
“There are so many possibilities, and I’m excited to jump in,” Sophie said. “I want to take my college years to explore what’s out there for me.”
Sophie frequently features a girl reaching out in her paintings.
Seeing Stars:
SU Launches New Planetarium
Salisbury University students can now add out-of-this-world education to their hands-on experiential learning thanks to a new planetarium recently dedicated at Henson Science Hall.
“There is a tremendous amount of youthful energy from students coming out of high school wanting to study astronomy and astrophysics, bolstered by not just government-based explorations like NASA’s Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, which are changing the entire way we think about our universe, but also in terms of private companies like SpaceX and Boeing.” said Dr. Michael Scott, dean of the Henson School of Science and Technology.
“We are entering in an entire new realm of space exploration over the next 30 to 40 years. The incoming SU students who study astronomy and astrophysics in this planetarium will be the scientists of the future who push us on to colonizing the moon and Mars. These students will be doing that work in the future. Without facilities like this, it would be difficult for them to advance to that next step, and here at SU, we are providing those opportunities.”
The Henson Planetarium will enhance and support science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, with primary use by SU’s Physics Department for classroom instruction and research for astronomy and astrophysics students.
The new facility, combined with SU’s proximity to and recent Space Act Agreement with NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility (read more on page 9), also opens doors for more hands-on learning opportunities and partnerships for students seeking careers in space exploration.
The planetarium was made possible by a $200,000 gift from the Richard A. Henson Foundation. The SU Physics Department plans to offer planetarium events open to the public and host external groups beginning next year.
LEARNING TO FLY IS A WORK OF ART
When Kennedy Workman ’21 (above) shows off her art portfolio, she has something that sets her apart from others: Her work has traveled to space.
As an SU student, Kennedy designed a NASA mission patch (below) that was chosen as the winner of a competition for Terps in Space, an extension of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program. Her patch was selected from submissions across the state, with judges calling it the best design “by a landslide across the board.”
The project was set to launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida, and when the ship touched back down, Kennedy’s patch was returned to her with a certificate confirming it had traveled to space.
It has been a few years since then, and Kennedy has been working hard to bring her artist career to life. Art and design is an extremely competitive field of work. Sometimes, she gets caught up in the hustle and bustle and forgets what makes her shine. But looking back, the NASA experience is a nice reminder of what she is truly capable of.
“It’s such a confidence boost when I’m interviewing for a job and they bring up my NASA mission patch,” Kennedy said. “When I think back, I see that I was able to create a design that was chosen out of everyone else’s. This is projecting me forward and helping me stand out as an artist.”
Kennedy currently works at Baltimore-based Angel Publishing as the sole graphic designer, while freelancing and further building up her portfolio. Thinking back on her time at SU, where she was able to collaborate with and learn from her classmates, she would love to someday join a marketing team with multiple designers.
Ultimately, she wants to keep improving herself as an artist – and she hopes other SU students who dream of reaching for the stars as she did will be inspired to find their way.
When I think back, I see that I was able to create a design that was chosen out of everyone else’s. This is projecting me forward and helping me stand out as an artist.”
– Kennedy Workman
“My advice is to create art for yourself that inspires you,” Kennedy said. “It will add to your portfolio, and it will remind you of why you love art in the first place.”
As Kennedy continues to forge her path, she is holding her head high and keeping her eyes toward the sky.
“The NASA project was so special and gave me confidence that I stand out,” she said. “I’m still growing as a designer, and I’m hopeful to see what my journey looks like as I take each next step.”
SU ALUMNI TOUCH THE SKY
Many students dream of someday working for a major company like NASA. They’ll be glad to know they don’t just have their heads in the clouds – SU alumna Nicole Turner M’97 is proof of what’s possible.
After 35 years of working for NASA, Nicole’s list of achievements is impressive. She has worked closely with NASA’s premier scientists and engineers, and she was even financial manager for the multi-billion-dollar, multi-national Hubble Space Telescope mission. From interning at Wallops Flight Facility in high school to a senior leader at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC., her career has come full circle.
Throughout her many roles, Nicole thinks the best thing about working for NASA is that she can see herself in its mission to strive for the betterment of humanity through discovery.
“We like to say, ‘No job at NASA lacks discovery,’” Nicole said. “We have attorneys, technicians, doctors, financial officers, graphic designers and a plethora of different disciplines all of which enable NASA to further technological advancements in aeronautics and space research. It’s an environment where we value everyone, from our janitors to our astronauts.”
With SU’s new partnership with NASA Wallops, Nicole hopes students can see the possibilities for themselves at NASA, no matter their area of interest. It’s a field of work where people are constantly learning and evolving within a team. That collaboration and sense of value are what collectively unites and ignites everyone toward a greater purpose.
“With an open mind, one can envision and manifest multiple paths of opportunity at NASA,” Nicole said. “I’ve gotten experience here you wouldn’t believe for not having a science background. We work hard but the work is so rewarding and humbling. At NASA, we are literally and figuratively on the cusp of exploratory preeminence.”
“It’s incredible to see what a great asset the school is to students and the community. I stand ready to support the Perdue School in providing experiential opportunities for students.”
– Nicole Turner
Nicole’s other passion is inspiring the next generation of explorers. She visits local schools, discussing NASA’s mission and how the future of exploration lies with them. “Inspiring our future NASA cadre is very important in succession planning for the Agency but also maintains our nation’s dominance in space exploration and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) workforce.
With her current position on the SU Foundation Board of Directors, Nicole is uniquely positioned to create more opportunities for current and future SU students. In more than 20 years since graduating, Nicole is impressed with the academic prowess of SU’s Franklin P. Perdue School of Business.
“It’s incredible to see what a great asset the school is to students and the community,” Nicole said. “The program and opportunities rival those at Ivy League business schools. I stand ready to support the Perdue School in providing experiential opportunities for students.”
Ready for Lift-Off!
New NASA Partnership Creates Opportunities for Students
Thanks to the new Space Act Agreement signed between SU and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center last year, SU students have new opportunities to launch their careers.
According to Dr. Michael Scott, dean of SU’s Richard A. Henson School of Science and Technology, plans are in the works for a cohort-based internship program across science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. This will include opportunities for students in physics, engineering, computer science, mathematics, and geosciences fields, as well as for those in accounting and education.
SU has proposed developing an internship funding mechanism to help enhance workforce development at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, VA. In addition to helping address workforce challenges, this will also provide more opportunities for SU students.
A large percentage of local Wallops interns convert to regular employees of either NASA itself or NASA contractors. According to David Pierce, Wallops Flight Facility director, the SU Space Act Agreement partnership provides necessary long-term resources for the facility.
“Our operations are growing at Wallops, underscoring the need for an innovative, skilled workforce to advance our science and technology missions,” he said. “This agreement is helping us fill a critical workforce need to propel us into the future.”
The agreement also provides more experiential learning opportunities for students on campus, including the potential for guest speakers and participation in campus events such as job and career fairs. Multiple NASA officials already have spoken at SU over the years, including Space Shuttle astronaut Richard Arnold II, Hubble Space Telescope Mission Deputy Project manager Jim Jeletic and, most recently, Dr. J. Tanner Slagel, research computer scientist at NASA’s Langley Research Center.
Funding is currently being sought for the internship program. The goal is to have five SU students interning at Wallops each summer.
To support programs like this, visit: giving.salisbury.edu
