T eacher Bill Rakonczay and his Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering students at the Orleans Career and Technical Education Center, will have their names in space next year at the International Space Station.
Mr. Rakonczay, his students, support staff and Orleans/Niagara BOCES’ new District Superintendent Dr. Taweepon Farrar signed a part of a locker that will be going to the International Space Station (ISS) thanks to their partnership with NASA's HUNCH program. The students made a part for the stowage lockers and were rewarded for their hard work by Florence Gold, a NASA HUNCH mentor. She stopped in to have the seniors sign one of the locker panels.
The HUNCH mission is to empower and inspire students through project-based learning program where high school students learn 21st Century skills and have the opportunity to launch their careers through the participation in the design and fabrication of real-world valued products for NASA.
Space flight equipment is one of HUNCH’s largest programs allowing students to create high quality hardware items for the ISS. Since the projects are likely to fly to the ISS, they need to be of the highest quality and meet stringent tolerances applied to all hardware for the ISS.
Mr. Rakonczay says he has enjoyed the years’ long partnership. “It has been a great experience for my students and something pretty amazing to put on their resume as they apply for colleges or enter the workforce.” Ms. Gold thanked everyone for their hard work and told them how much she enjoys working with high school students who are passionate about career and technical education.