5 Santa Monica Students Win National Space Camp Scholarships

Five Santa Monica College students beat national competition to win all-expenses-paid scholarships to Space Camp, proving that community colleges are launching pads for the stars.

Nafiseh Pirmoradi, Angel Gonzalez, Stephanie Hernandez Hernandez, Julissan Gonzalez, and Aria Hightower traveled to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama this July. The Proctor Foundation for Art and Science selected them from applicants representing community colleges across the country.

For three days, they piloted simulations, completed team missions, and tackled challenges designed to mirror real aerospace work. The scholarship covered everything: travel, lodging, meals, and full programming.

Dr. Sian Proctor, the astronaut and educator who founded the scholarship program, designed it to open doors. "We believe access to transformative experiences like Space Camp can ignite curiosity, build confidence, and open pathways into careers in space and STEAM," she said.

For Hightower, a formerly homeschooled freshman, the trip marked her first airplane ride and first journey out of state. The experience sparked a passion for biology's connections to space and inspired her to encourage other African American and homeschooled students to reach for the stars.

Pirmoradi's highlight came during flight simulations, calling it "a distant dream turned into reality." When her rocket launch failed twice before succeeding on the third try, she learned a powerful lesson: there's no such thing as failure, only opportunities to try again.

Why This Inspires

These students didn't just attend Space Camp. They shattered assumptions about who belongs in space exploration.

Hernandez Hernandez, visiting Alabama for the first time, gained confidence that failing is okay as long as you keep pushing forward. Gonzalez-Villeda from South Los Angeles found the peer connections refreshing and saw firsthand why mentorship and scholarships matter for underrepresented students.

Julissan Gonzalez's journey came full circle. "From watching Endeavour fly overhead at seven to becoming a Space Camp alumna, I'll never stop pursuing my dreams," she said.

Santa Monica College students have already interned at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NOAA, UCLA, and UC Berkeley. These five scholarships prove that when barriers disappear, students soar higher than anyone imagined.