2025 GA Participants in GASSSS Program
These participants have submitted a final GASSSS application.
If your name is not on this list and you have participated in the GASSSS program, please contact Larry Woolf at Lawrence.Woolf@ga-asi.com
| GA GASSSS Participant | Company | School | Materials Purchased | Activity |
| Kevin Cardinal | GA-ASI | James Dukes Elementary, Ramona CA | BambuLab A1 Combo 3D Printer | Real time 3D printing workshop. Brief history about General Atomics and 3D printing. |
| Donna Mirabella | GA-ASI | Girl Scouts of America, San Diego CA | One (1) LEGO Education Spike Prime Set. Set is part of the LEGO® Learning System and is the go-to STEAM learning kit for grade 6-8 students. This kit combines colorful LEGO building elements, easyto- use hardware, and intuitive drag-and-drop coding language based on Scratch to continuously engage students through playful learning activities by encouraging them to think critically and solve complex problems, regardless of their learning level. |
Chaperoned Girl Scout troop at free Robotics event on 10/26. Girl Scouts built robots at event using LEGO kit to work toward earning a Robotics badge in designing, programming, and/or showcasing. Girl Scouts will be building robots at event using LEGO kit. |
| Carla Slater Kettrick | GA-ASI | Deer Canyon Elementary, San Diego CA | None | Deer Canyon Elementary STEAM Night; Set up display table. Showcased GA models (3D printed parts and UAV models) and photos of products. Demonstrated elementary-level examples of GA technologies used in the development of products. Shared with kids information on the products GA produces. Talked with kids and parents about the company and the engineering discipline. |
| Daren Wade | GA-ASI | Cal State San Marcos Super STEM Saturday 2024, San Marcos CA | None | Demonstration of electrical and physical principles |
| Paul Ferrell | GA-EMS | Canyon Hills High School, San Diego CA | Robot Parts | I am mentoring for FIRST Robotics team #1266. I attended the team meeting on March 14th and assisted in mentoring the team and placed the order for additional components for them. |
| James Rudden | GA-ASI | Marshall Middle School, San Diego CA | FIRST LEGO® League Challenge Team Registration; Challenge Set; FIRST LEGO® League Challenge Qualifying Tournament Entry Fee | Coached robotics team to include design, coding, presentation of Lego robot to judging panels. Additionally, coached the team to create an innovation project to create an invention for helping people explore the ocean per the season theme of “Submerged.” This has resulted in the kids meeting with and getting feedback from various experts in this area. They have become adept at articulating their concepts and ideas, getting feedback from experts, then iterating on their concepts and ideas. |
| Michelle Colatutto | GA-ASI | R&D Robotics Education, San Diego CA | FIRST LEGO League team kit for Challenge team and team event registration for the challenge and explore teams. | Leading the explore team weekly meetings, guiding students through the lessons, team build and coding and practice of robot game. |
| Delmi Lugo | GA-ASI | Project Next Connect to Careers, San Marcos CA | None | Met with various students before, during and after the event. Discussed opportunities within GA and the types of skills required. Also met with students that were interested in other areas such as nursing, health care and teaching. Due to my wife’s experience within that area, I was able to explain the requirements, type of work she performs and provide sources of information that they can look for more information. |
| Anna Sophia Rorrer Warren | GA-EMS | University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO | None | As a mentor for the CU Boulder Aerospace Engineering Senior Design course I provided advising for three teams of a total of 37 students as they learn the project lifecycle. Every week I met with each group for a minimum of a half hour and at each review I would spend time providing feedback for their presentations. As a part of my advising, I worked with other employees (including other recent CU Alum) at GA to provide additional feedback and input to help improve their projects. In October, I drove to Boulder along with Matthew Januszewski to hold an in-person mentoring meeting. This provided the teams with a chance to ask questions about their projects, industry, and General Atomics in a face-to-face setting. Through November, I coordinated to connect the teams with Lukas Brettmann and his team to get feedback for control systems and modelling as well as conveying lessons learned from August Hauter regarding his senior design project of a similar type at CU Boulder. This semester was very successful, and all teams successfully completed their CDR presentations as of December 11, which included their plans to continue developing their designs and conducting tests in the spring semester. |
| Jennifer Adkinson | GA-SI | Superior Hills-Marquette Area Public Schools, Marquette MI | STEM supplies for first grade classroom | Volunteered in the classroom assisting teaches with the activities purchased. |
| Roselynn Conrady | GA-EMS | Greater Than Tech, San Diego CA | None | For 5 Middle and high school underserved girls, I will be a judge for their business pitch to determine who will be the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place teams for a scholarship for their work on their optical sensor capstone projects. |
| George Katsanis | GA-ASI | Shoal Creek Elementary School, San Diego CA | First Lego League Explore Team Registration (includes Explore Lego set); Lego Education SPIKE Essential Kit |
Lead coach for his team of six students and helped lead the FLL Robot Club at Shoal Creek Elementary where we had a total of five FLL Explore teams (including David’s team and George’s team). George hosted all of his team’s weekly meetings in his home, led the kids through a series of lessons on the Ocean (this year’s FLL theme), and led the kids in developing SPIKE programs for the robot competition. |
| David Duncan | GA-EMS | Shoal Creek Elementary School, San Diego CA | First Lego League Explore Team Registration (includes Explore Lego set); Lego Education SPIKE Essential Kit |
Worked with his team to help them develop SPIKE programs to maneuver their Lego robots for the Explore League robot competition. David also supported his team at the FLL Festival at High Tech High on 12/14/24 where the kids presented their work and participated in the robot competition. |
| Levi Parsell | GA-ASI | Rowan Elementary School, San Diego CA | Rowan elementary school is starting a robotics club, requesting funding to support lab setup, equipment and material etc. I used funding to buy storage solution for Rowan Elementary' s Robotics club and a USB charging hub for the LEGO parts. | I helped start a Robotics Club at Rowan Elementary School. We are in the FIRST LEGO League Challenge. So far we have had two very successful meetings. |
| Timothy Bleakley | GA-ASI | Ramona High School, Ramona CA | None | One of a panel of professional engineers providing mentoring and project reviews for the senior Engineering class and their Capstone design projects. The design projects begin in the Fall semester and continue throughout the academic year, and are performed in small teams. Mentors meet regularly with their assigned teams and participate in whole-class activities, including the formal project reviews/assessments. This report covers the Winter/Spring semester of the 23/24 academic year, and the Fall semester of the 24/25 year. |
| Breanna Bergado | GA-ASI | Valle Lindo Elementary School, Chula Vista CA | 15 Lego Race Car Stem Activity Kits | Spent time with students explaining basic principles of engineering and examples they can relate to. Demonstrated and walked students building a specific race car and how different components changed the cars functionality. |
| Ignatius Widjaja | GA-ASI | Poway High School, Poway CA | Parts for FIRST Robotics Competition Robot in 2024. | Throughout the school year, mentored high school students using the engineering process, taught presentation skills and provided career guidance. Also, referee’d at robotics competitions that the team was hosting. |
| Doug Seybert | GA-ASI | Jerabek Elementary School, San Diego CA | 2 sets of Tuning forks, 2 tuning forks with resonance boxes, a Bluetooth speaker, straws, cups, and other supplies to make instruments in the classroom and show physical behavior related to sound waves | I presented a set of slides to the class talking about sound waves. I used the tuning forks to demonstrate the difference in sound generated from different tuning forks and passed them around for the kids to try for themselves. I used a phone app to show the waveform created by the sounds and discussed physically what was happening when sound is generated and traveling through different medium. We finished up with making reed instruments out of straws and cutting them to different lengths to see how it impacted the sound. |
| David Eldon | GA | Pacific Rim Elementary, Carlsbad CA | I purchased components for constructing additional magnetism demonstrations. That is: strong magnets and plastic pipes to hold and cushion them to allow children to handle them safely. Wooden dowels were also purchased as part of the system of fixing the magnets in place in the pipes. | I went to Pacific Rim Elementary in Carlsbad and gave a presentation on plasma, temperature, magnetism, and fusion. I explained the difference between gas and plasma, the meaning of temperature at the atomic level, how plasma is made, how magnets are used to trap plasma, and how we drive current in our plasma with magnetic induction. These explanations were supported with demonstrations using apparatus borrowed from the DIII-D tour program. With the exception of liquid nitrogen, the demonstrations were hands on. I delivered this as a 40 minute presentation, repeated for five groups of fourth graders. They were very engaged! I'm thankful for the demonstration equipment we have available; the kids really enjoyed it! |
| Bryce Kelford | GA-ASI | Coastal Christian Academy, Clairemont CA | Lego Spike kit--including micro-controller for first Lego league competition. Medium motors (2x) | I am co-coach on the team. I have been advising and guiding the students on how to break the problem down into smaller steps and helping them to characterize what to solve so that they can be more focused in the solution that they come up with. I have been asking them probing questions about what benefits and shortcomings they believe their design will result in during testing. |
| Clayton Shallcross | GA-EMS | San Pasqual High School, Escondido CA | Qty 7: BeeSpi v Self-Contained Photogates. This hardware will be used to improve the accuracy of velocity measurements, which are currently being done with a stop watch and yard stick. In addition, the students can then compare the values obtained by the stop watch and photogate method to develop an understanding of factors that influence measurement precision and accuracy. | I visited San Pasqual High School and helped students in 3 physics classes with their bumper project. At the beginning of each class, I gave the students a quick, ca. 7 min presentation (reviewed and authorized by my manager) about my career at GA-EMS and specifically discussed my experience with R&D in an industry setting. During my time in class, I helped the students with their project goal of designing, manufacturing, and testing the influence of different car bumper materials on the collision force and duration between a model scale car released from the top of a two meter ramp and fixed force sensor at the bottom of the ramp. |
| Timothy Bleakley | GA-ASI | Ramona High School, Ramona CA | Supplies for design team prototypes: VOC air filter, 3D printer filament, cell phone cooler. | One of a panel of professional engineers providing mentoring and project reviews for the junior/senior Engineering class and their Capstone design projects. Classroom visits to mentor two design teams, meetings with teacher and other mentors, ordering supplies. |
| Joshua Pine | GA-ASI | Cal State San Marcos, San Marcos CA | None | Talking to children and parents about math and science and how those things relate to a career in aerospace or engineering in general. Performing demonstrations of fundamental electromagnetic phenomenon. Demonstrating additive manufacturing. |
| Aaron Sathrum | GA-EMS | Rolling Hills Elementary School, San Diego CA | None | Judged TK-5th grade science fair projects (~60) at Rolling Hills Elementary School. |
| Stevie Jacobson, Robin Jacobson | GA-ASI | Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair, San Diego CA | None | We will be supporting the AIAA San Diego Section in judging aerospace-related science fair projects at the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair. Spoke with students about their science fair projects and selected 2 winners to be recognized at the AIAA-SD awards banqut in May 2025. |
| Veronica Begay | GA-EMS | West Valley High School, Hemet CA | Books for the classroom to keep: The Wright Brothers, 1,000 Facts About Space, Flight: The Complete History of Aviation; Supplies: Paper, Markers, Scissors, Rulers, Tape and Glue Activity Group Prizes: 15 3D Wooden Airplane Models Puzzles |
Visited my alma mater, a high school in a low-income area, to share my experiences as a college student and engineer and how pursuing a STEM career is achievable, even for students from similar backgrounds. Performed group activity centered around a paper airplane competition. |
| Nina Langley | GA | Science Olympiad, San Diego CA | None | GA employee led the Helicopters Event for the San Diego Regional Science Olympiad, held at USD. This consisted of giving volunteer proctors on-the-job training, evaluating student-built helicopters & flight-logs based on design criteria, timing helicopter flights, and inputting scores. |
| John Zinck | GA-SI | Benson Primary School, Benson AZ | None | Coached a 3rd grade First Lego League Team. During weekly team meetings. First Lego League uses Lego kits to teach science and technology principles. This year's topic was "Submerged." We learned about the different zones in the ocean, and what kinds of life live in each zone. We also came up with ways to improve the ocean. The students designed an autonomous robot that would identify and remove trash from the ocean. |
| Teresa Konopka | GA-ASI | UC Irvine - high school, undergraduate, and graduate, AIAA, Irvine CA | Travel expenses for AIAA science projects | I judged the AIAA Region 6 Student Conference. High school and undergraduates presented on various aerospace topics. I graded them on technical content, originality, and presentation skills. I also mentored the students and gave them career advice. |
| William Welch | GA-ASI | Maranatha Christian Schools, San Diego CA | Various electronic parts for the students project which is a lockbox for phones while driving. An LCD screen and accelerometer that is comparable with the Arduino Nano. | I am currently acting as a sounding board for a group of students working a proposed lock box design and am advising them as they progress through their design process. As I continue with Maranatha's STEM program, I will act as a reviewer and audience member of other designs as they are presented at the end of the year. There will also be an opportunity for me to present on the engineering field as a whole at an upcoming STEM career day. I worked with the students to develop a BOM. |
| Julia Folkl | GA-ASI | FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics Team 17062: The Techalongs, Scottsdale AZ | GoBilda Drivetrain for use by Robotics team in competition | Reviewed competition rules and team poster for competition. Attended Robotics practice, answered questions about my experience. Acted as a stand in judge for the team's presentation of their robot design, competition strategy, and outreach/mentorship efforts. Note: The girls had a phenomenal performance the following weekend, and won the Inspire award, granting them admission to Worlds, an extraordinary feat! |
| Paul Kwan, Alejandro Gastelum, Melissa Wallace | GA-ASI | Lincoln Acres Elementary School, National City CA | DJI Neo drone to serve as hands on demonstrators of drone technology for a science day demonstration. 3 total drones were purchased, The drones were raffled off to family attendees at the afterschool science fair open house. | Presentation introducing GA and our core drone development business. Tying that to drones they might recognize as references in popular media. Discussion on engineers, STEM, and a career in engineering. Hands on "training" with drones. |
| Paul Auger, David Jensen, Kent Koster, John Adams, Aaron Webb, Owen Lovell, Jordan Buxton | GA-ASI | Legacy Junior High School, Layton UT | The funding was used to help pay for travel and admission expenses to the VEX Robotics World Competition. It was a donation to the school fund for the robotics team. | The 7 GA Employees that were involved analyzed the team's engineering notebook. Then we met with the robotics team over two days and did mock interviews, including robot design, software design, and adherence to the engineering process. We then provided advice and mentoring on how to improve the source code, and better explain their robot design so that they could show better at the worlds competition. The team was very respectful and grateful for the mentoring, practice, and feedback. |
| Alejandro Loza, Timothy Novinger, Russell Porter, Daniel Lyyjoki | GA-ASI | Mt. Carmel High School, San Diego CA | None | Meet and greet with Moderator, stage setup, panel discussion, student networking, and talking about career/experience with GA-ASI |
| Katherine Kucharski | GA-ASI | Albert Einstein Academy, San Diego CA | Purchased spaghetti and marshmallows for a hands-on in-class activity with 6 classed of 2nd graders. Purchased magnetic truss set to leave with each classroom. | I completed a presentation on truss structures and talked about different types of engineering to kick off the engineering unit for six second grade classes (each class had about 25 students, for a total of 150 student participants). After the presentation, we split them up into groups of 4-5 and they were challenged to build the tallest, free-standing truss structure. The tallest structure was 35 inches tall! The kids had a really great time brainstorming and building, and learned how difficult it can be to work in a team sometimes. |
| Michael Hunter | GA-ASI | Scripps Ranch High School, San Diego CA | A Creality k2 3D printer was purchased to additively manufacture parts for the drone competition. | Conducted an analysis of the initial UAV design to assess structural integrity, functional performance, and design feasibility. Proposed targeted optimizations to improve mechanical durability, streamline manufacturability, and achieve weight reduction through material selection and geometric refinement. Facilitated technical discussions on the comparative capabilities of CAD platforms and the process limitations inherent to additive manufacturing. Fabricated prototypes and spare components using 3D printing, ensuring alignment with the teams requirements. |
| Tina Reuter, Sheila Meyer, Don Czechowicz, Nina Langley, Alberto Nunez, Carole Christian, Shahin Pajoom, Isaac Ruiz, Alex Haid |
GA | Skyline Elementary School, Solana Beach CA | The funds were used for Ingredients for LN2 ice cream; gasoline for GA science outreach van used to transport the LN2 dewars + staff + all ingredients to the school; Insurance for the event as required by the school. | General Atomics Scientists and Engineers put on a science show at Skyline Elementary School to share their expertise in material science, explore how we make a "star on Earth", and demonstrate laboratory safety in an experiment ending in a sweet, Liquid Nitrogen ice-cream treat for the audience of 80 K-2 Students. |
| Brian Ngsee | GA-ASI | Canyon View Elementary, San Diego CA | Booth Rental at STEAM Festival, sponsored by the Canyon View Foundation non profit | I supported the running of a General Atomics booth at the STEAM festival. I brought with me model aircraft, handouts, and brief talking points about the company and how their technology helps. I also helped K - 5 school age children with completing hands on STEAM activities borrowed from the San Diego County of Education's Play Math! program. The activities included a large SOMA puzzle, pattern machines, hexagon frames/shapes, linking turtle puzzles, "tetris" blocks, and unit cubes. |
| Syed Akbar | GA-ASI | Walteria Elementary School, Torrance CA | 96 glass mason jars, Hornwort Bunch Plants, 60 Stalks of Bamboo, River Rocks, Plastic Cups to make environments. | Participated in the activity with 5th grade class students to assemble the experiment. Helped students with the assembly of the jars with river rocks, bamboo, cups, etc. Presented a lecture and powerpoint presentation to the 5th grade science class on General Atomics and our UAVs. Discussed drone technology and the importance of satellite communications. Q&A session with students on UAV and robotics technologies. |
| Chau Nguyen, Alexander Quan | GA-ASI | Maryland Avenue Elementary School, La Mesa CA | Supply and material for The Human Machine, Energy Science, Energizing Everything, and Animals and Plant Adaptations Mystery Science Modules (https://mysteryscience.com/). Material was purchased in bulk and was individually separated and packaged for the students. Enough material was purchased for three 3rd grade classes, approximately 100 students. | Alex and I used the time to package the material in different kits so each student can perform the proper module without mixing the items. On 5/25, Alex and I were on site in Mrs. Garcia’s class to demonstrate and assisting the students in executing the Energy Science module. We demonstrated the procedure before the students were able to create their own experiments. We were also able to talk to the students about GA science and engineering careers and passed out company flyers. We answered all questions the students had about drones, engineering work environment and GA. |
| Barak Horowitz | GA-ASI | Edison Elementary School, San Diego, CA | None | Spoke about what i do as an engineer at GA day in/out at a career fair for kids at Edison elementary (K - 5th) brought references, made a powerpoint and showed videos of MQ9B's taking off/landing. |
| Kelly Seiler Vocke | GA-ASI | Sunset Hills Elementary School, San Diego CA | 4 of Makeblock mBot2 Coding Robot for Kids. | Give a mini engineering talk using GASSSS materials and participate in coding lesson. |
| Auna Moser, Erik Olofsson | GA | Torrey Pines Elementary School, La Jolla CA | 3 plasma balls, Fusion stickers | Erik Olofsson and Auna Moser (along with a UCLA colleague) presented hands-on activities at Torrey Pines Elementary School Science Discovery Day: IR camera activities; Spectral lamps and spectral glasses; Plasma balls |
| Joel Petracci | GA-ASI | FRC Team NOMAD Inc., Escondido CA | Four Swerve Modules. The modules include motor and motor controllers that allow for better control over the robot during competitions. The modules allow for 360 degree movement by including motors and controls to turn a wheel in desired direction. | I serve as a Design and Software Programming mentor/tutor for the FRC 6995 NOMAD team. Mentored software team members during development and testing of the robot control software. Helped troubleshoot issues with the robot software during development and competitions. |
| Hannah Houze | GA-ASI | Chapter One tutoring | None | Weekly virtual tutoring sessions through Chapter One program. |
| George Partida | GA-ASI | Highland Ranch Elementary School, San Diego CA | None | I participated at my daughters elementary schools Career Day and shared information about my profession with the students. 3rd-5th grade students walked around and ask questions about my career and career path. I utilized a variety of visual aides and approved video from our Media Library. |
| Darren Trieu | GA-ASI | University City High School, San Diego, CA | None | I was a part of 2 panels that spoke to 2 different AP biology classes. I spoke about my career, college, and any advice that I would give to the students. The students also had various questions that I would answer in a Q/A format. After the last panel, I stayed back and spoke with some students about their career and questions about college. |
| Barak Horowitz | GA-ASI | Connect to Careers, San Marcos CA | None | Spoke to high school students about the benefits of a college degree, and opportunities in software engineering offered at GA and in the San Diego area as a whole |
| Daniel Thomas | GA-ASI | San Diego State University, San Diego CA | None | Spoke with students from different universities about supply chain, my experience with GA-ASI, as well as the number of opportunities available at GA&A. There was also young ex-military guests that I was able to connect with and offer guidance on potential paths with GA&A that support our veterans. Lastly I helped with set-up and takedown of the event to ensure that everything ran smoothly. |
| Cory Cottonaro | GA-ASI | UCSD, La Jolla CA | None | Mentoring physics student (Bi-weekly meetings with student every 2 weeks from February 10th – May 30th ) |
| Breanna Bergado | GA-ASI | Valle Lindo Elementary School, Chula Vista CA | PURCHASE 15 SETS of Ocean Fossil Dig Kit | VISITED CLASSROOM AND TALKED ABOUT VARIOUS STEM RELATED JOBS. DESCRIBED VARIOUS ENGINEERING THINGS THAT THEY SEE IN DAY TO DAY LIFE. DID A DEMONSTRATION OF HOW TO EXCAVATE THE FOSSILS AND IDENTIFY WHAT IS FOUND. |
| Kyle Wirth | GA-ASI | LR GREEN ELEMENTARY, Escondido CA | counting cubes, marble runs, block shape toys, magnetic shapes, and more | Due to complexity my time was used to build the storage shelves. |
| Michael Allwein | GA-ASI | Pacheco Elementary School, San Luis Obispo, CA | 150 Geodes (15 kits of 10 Geodes each) | To inspire the 4th graders on rocks, we would like to introduce them to geodes. During the lesson, we will discuss the formation of geodes. The 150 geodes will then be distributed to the students (2-3 each) for them to break open and discover the crystal treasure. The kits also come with 16 page learning guide that will be incorporated into the lesson. At the end of the lesson and lab, the students will be able to take their geode home. I supported Mrs. Massie lesson on Geodes. We then distributed two geodes to each student to break open. I supervised and helped the students open their geodes. |
| Orpheus Dong, Timothy Novinger, Michael Sakamoto, Micheal Spies, David Boucher, Carson Brown, Alex Waldron | GA-ASI | UCSD COSMOS high school students, San Diego CA | Purchased qty 30 GA challenge coins to hand out to each student after the tour that was included in their swag bag with internship information. | Take the robotics class on a manufacturing tour of the aircraft production line to showcase where GA-ASI uses robots to build our product. Provided a tour of the manufacturing areas in A14, 15 and 21 with the focus on all the robots that GA uses during production. |
| Charles Kaneb | GA-ASI | FIRST Robotics at Worchester Polytechnic Institute, Worchester MA | None | Instruction in mechanical engineering during engineering judging of FIRST robots at WPI Battlecry |
| Alexander Jones, Robert Belshaw |
GA-EMS | Power wheels not drugs (PWND), San Francisco CA | Electronics parts, batteries, 3d printing filament, shipping for parts/karts |
Interacting/participating with high school and other students/volunteers to help volunteer in setting up, running, and coordinating activities for teams participating in this event, which is part of the Opensauce convention. Outreach to highschool/college kids at convention, participation in convention with GA branded materials. |
| Conor Archdeacon | GA-ASI | Power wheels not drugs (PWND), San Francisco CA | Electronics parts, batteries, 3d printing filament, shipping for parts/karts |
Interacting/participating with high school and other students/volunteers to help volunteer in setting up, running, and coordinating activities for teams participating in this event, which is part of the Opensauce convention. Outreach to highschool/college kids at convention, participation in convention with GA branded materials. |
| Nicholas McMahon; Chrristine Dubuque | GA-ASI | Paloma Elementary Parent Teacher Organization, San Marcos, CA | Seven sets of Sphero Indi Student Kits for a total of fourteen color coding robots. | Volunteered at San Marcos, Paloma Elementary 3rd grade class to teach robot programming using Sphero Indi color coding robots. Instruction included robot setup, experimentation with two types of color tiles (singles, duplicates, alternating colors), program for distance, and program for speed. |
| Roger Nielsen | GA-ASI | Experimental Aircraft Association Inc., Youth Education Center, Oshkosh WI | None | My actual activity was to directly assist the students (high school age) at their soldering stations to safely and effectively use their soldering irons and other equipment to install components (cable assemblies) onto a circuit boards. These projects were part of an assembly that they then took to other stations where volunteers assisted them in programming and final assembly steps. |
| Kathreen Thome, Tess Bernard, Galina Avdeeva, Shawn Tang, Colin Chrystal, Gregory Sinclair, Lindsay Ward-Kavanagh | GA-ASI | American Association of University Women /TechTrek, CA | Purchased new parts for making of the spectroscope tubes (mailing tubes, caps, black business cards for making a slit and plastic bags.) This year attempted to optimize mailing tubes and caps for ease in the workshop. | We participated in four events as part of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) California TechTrek camps for rising 8th grade girls. We participated in person at the San Diego camp and also in the virtual camp. At each camp, we gave a spectroscope workshop where the girls built their own spectroscopes to keep and a DIII-D tour. Hours allowed participation in this event and also prep for the event (kits take awhile to prepare.) |
| Karen Hovey for 60 ASI interns | GA-ASI | Biocom California Generation STEAM | STEM circuit building kits | Assemble STEM circuit-building kits. Generation STEAM will then take the assembled kits and provide them to the Chula Vista Elementary School District. |
| Karen Hovey for 6 EMS interns | GA-EMS | Biocom California Generation STEAM | STEM circuit building kits | Assemble STEM circuit-building kits. Generation STEAM will then take the assembled kits and provide them to the Chula Vista Elementary School District. |
| Karen Hovey for 2 Diazyme interns | Diazyme | Biocom California Generation STEAM | STEM circuit building kits | Assemble STEM circuit-building kits. Generation STEAM will then take the assembled kits and provide them to the Chula Vista Elementary School District. |
| Karen Hovey for 11 GA interns | GA | Biocom California Generation STEAM | STEM circuit building kits | Assemble STEM circuit-building kits. Generation STEAM will then take the assembled kits and provide them to the Chula Vista Elementary School District. |
| Karen Hovey, Sheila Gerace, Angela Marinelli, Heather Shelby | GA | Biocom California Generation STEAM | STEM circuit building kits | Assemble STEM circuit-building kits. Generation STEAM will then take the assembled kits and provide them to the Chula Vista Elementary School District. |
| Chris Geraci | GA-ASI | Cole Canyon Elementary , Murietta CA | Purchased 18 snap circuit sets. Each Snap Circuit kit includes instructions and schematics for 203 projects | I worked with the teachers in the classrooms discussing and demonstrating electricity and circuits. I participated in two classroom events where I first provided a quick discussion about circuits and then the students were broken up into teams. I assigned the students an easy project as an introduction, then let them choose additional projects for the remaining time. |
| Anh Hoang | GA | Poway High School Robotics Club, Poway CA | None | The Poway High School Robotics team (Team Spyder 1622) has invited me to speak at their STEM Series to share my career experiences. Students attending are wanting to learn about what I do to explore their future career path opportunities. This event is online via Zoom. They usually get about 50-200 attendees. The event took place on August 27, 2025. |
| Laura Tran, Christina Tran | GA-ASI | Mira Mesa High School, San Diego CA | Fund to pay for Science Olympiad’s STEM activities and tournament fees. | Assist students in preparing for competitions and offer feedback drawn from prior proctoring experience. |
| Rick Lee, Michael Ross | GA | X-STEM, San Diego CA | None | We presented 3 workshops (build an electromagnet) for MS/HS students in the X-STEM Program, part of the USA Science & Engineering Festival, at the San Diego Convention Center. An estimated total of 260 students were in attendance. Each student was supplied with 1m magnet wire, 3" x 0.25" steel rod, and a D-cell battery to make an electromagnet and as many paper clips as they could suspend with their diy electromagnet. |
| Christopher Mifflin | GA-ASI | Deer Canyon Elementary PSO, San Diego CA | Design, procurement of component parts / raw materials, and fabrication of scale wind tunnel. | This will be part of a display for Deer Canyon Elementary STEAM night. If time permits will produce display model with movable flight controls to better help children understand airplane flight controls. In addition, planning on setting up a flight simulator (MSFS 2024) with yoke and rudder pedals (personal property). The overall goal is to get children interested in mechanics of flight. |
| Bonnie Neptune | GA-ASI | University of San Diego, San Diego CA | None | USD Fall Career and Internship Fair. Meet with students to discuss my career and internship/career opportunities at GA. |
| Levi Parsell, Derrick Knox, Kevin Jiang, Giovanni Sardina, Michael K. Petrucci, Jameelah Serrano, Evan Czaja, Edward Grunloh | GA-ASI | Rowan Elementary School, San Diego CA | Funds were used to purchase Season material for the FIrst Lego League. We purchased enough supplies to support 45 to 50 kids. Kits were purchased for the Discover, Explore, and Challenge divisions. | GA team will provide mentorship and guidance to the 10-12 teams comprising the club. The teams are participating in the FIRST Lego Explore and Challenge Season, which culminates in a competition / showcase at the end of the school year. |
| Rick Lee, Clayton Gray | GA | STEPcon, Riverside CA | None | Gray and Lee setup, rehearsed, and executed four 30-minute science stage shows for >1500 grade 4-11 students (live) plus online participants at the annual Student STEPCon conference at the Bourns Technology Center in Riverside, CA . An additional 15 minute show was provided to about 20 representatives of sponsoring organizations, such as Well Fargo, Cal Baptist University, and Abbot. The show's theme was electricity and more than a dozen demonstrations were used to illustrate charge, voltage, resistance, and circuits as well as generation and transmission of power. |
| Jason Flores, Andrew Hnat, Micah Baxter, Michael Pires; Magaly Juarez | GA-ASI | X-STEM, San Diego CA | Parking at event and pens | Three workshops (100 students) one hour each session introducing GA and Additive manufacturing and Design for Additive Manufacturing to middle school students. |
| Oscar Gutierrez, Karen Lopez, Magaly Juarez | GA-EMS | X-STEM, San Diego CA | Parking at event | Three workshops (100 students) one hour each session introducing GA and Additive manufacturing and \Design for Additive Manufacturing to middle school students. |
| Zebediah Krantz | GA-SI | Coquille High School, Coquille, OR | Purchased AndyMark First Tech Challenge "Decode" full team set. | I assisted the varsity FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team in designing their robot and developing their strategy for competitions. Last year, 3 valuable members of the team graduated. This year, we welcomed 5 new freshmen. I helped the team develop their strategy for the competition year. My approach has always been a teamwork style. Let's have 3 or 4 members each do simple tasks instead of having only one person control the entire machine. |
| Don Czechowicz, Shahin Pajoom, Tina Reuter, Nina Langley, Ruben Santana, Alberto Nunez, Carole Christian, Erwin Castillo, David Guzman | GA | Grant School, Santa Monica CA | Transportation Costs; Costs for Demonstration Supplies needed for School Assemblies; Costs for Science Banners & Hand-Outs as needed. | Demonstration of “SCIENCE IS VERY COOL" – Cryogenics-Ice Cream production and testing by ~500 Grant School Attendees at School-Wide Science Assembly. Distribution of GASSSS Science Posters from previous years. Packed Auditorium discussions of “What It’s Like to be a Scientist”. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS on Science in Our World during Demonstration |
| Jason Floquet, Kevin Williams | GA-ASI | Scripps Ranch High School, San Diego CA | 2 x Bambu Lab P1S 3D Printers | We were guest speakers in a "Principles of Engineering" class at Scripps Ranch High School. We discussed our roles and careers at GA, discussed what GA does and how important a STEM education is. We demonstrated the results of 3D printing done here at GA, and discussed coding and the use of AI. Also answered many questions from students during the expanded period. |
| Mark Davis | GA-ASI | Children’s Creative and Performing Arts Academy, San Diego CA | Supplies purchased to perform squid dissection and anatomy lesson with 4th and 6th grade classrooms. Squid specimen, Gloves, Dissection kits, Cleaning supplies, Educational material | Taught students about squid anatomy and led dissections to ensure students were identifying major parts of the squid. |
| Suman Dwarakanath, Adam Agundes | GA-EMS | First Lego League, San Marcos CA | Registration, Challenge Set, LEGO Education SPIKE prime | We will facilitate the team in following the guidance provided to execute the UNEARTHED (2025/26) Challenge Set. To prepare for the challenge we will work with the team to apply core values, develop a design , build models, and prepare for Challenge Event (if we choose to). |
| Ryan Adams | GA-ASI | Solana Ranch Elementary School, San Diego CA | Materials were used in the construction, testing, and demonstration of straw rockets. | I presented a brief slide presentation explaining that I am a Failure Analysis Engineer, what that meant, and how the principles they are learning are applied to my career. The presentation included a short video about rockets and how they work. Following the video, we discussed the concept of force and symmetry and how they apply to airplanes and rockets. The instructions and materials were provided to the students so they could make straw rockets that we would then test. I assisted the students and answered questions as they added fins and nose cones. |
| Eisenhower De Leon | GA-ASI | Scripps Ranch High School, Aerospace Robotics Club, San Diego CA | The money was used to help the team pay for their entrance fee to join ARC. | I was team mentor for this event which includes providing technical guidance on the drone building process, meeting with a team of students at Scripps Ranch High School to provide engineering principles. |
| Chad Rutherford | GA-ASI | Sunkist Elementary School, Anaheim CA | iPad | Spoke at a career day event on 10/15 and returned to on 11/12 to work with the kids. For the career day event I spoke to kids in four classes about my career and GA. On 10/15 and 11/12 I worked with the kids on programing some STEM robots from a previous GASSS event and we used the iPad to control the robots. |
| Drew Washburn | GA-EMS | Paloma Elementary School, Temecula CA | None | Demonstrated electromagnetic principles of permanent magnets. |
| Fernando Martinez | GA | St Columba Elementary School, San Diego CA | Consumable materials utilized during the egg drop activity including: STEM kit, straws, padding materials, fake plastic eggs (there was an egg shortage at the time), metal BBs to fill fake eggs. Also purchased prizes for the winners from the GA ERA. | Provided an overview presentation about my engineering experience, GA technologies, and fusion energy, then conducted an "Egg Drop" activity with 4th grade math class in which students in teams of three or four designed vessels for their eggs and used the materials supplied to build them. Prizes were awarded based on a combination of lowest mass vessels and highest drop height that the egg survived. |
| Ronalyn Concepcion | GA | Connect to Careers www.projectnext.org; San Marcos CA | None | The event was sponsored by Project Next. The event was a powerful opportunity for students to connect with professionals from diverse industries, learn about various careers, and receive the real-world insights needed to shape their future. I spoke with several students about my career and the steps I took to get there. I listened to their goals and gave advice on different options to take. I also gave words of encouragement to those who had a set plan as well as those who did not. It was a worthwhile event and I'm glad I took part in it. |
| Vanessa Swope | GA-ASI | Connect to Careers, San Marcos CA | None | We will be participate in a multi-industry breakfast with high school students and share about our company, position, and career journey, helping students learn about various careers and the skills and education needed. |
| Jose Castro | GA-ASI | Cal State San Marcos, San Marcos CA | None | Demonstrating Electromagnetics and theory of flight to a k12 audience. |
| Nicole Edlauer | GA-ASI | Chapter One | None | ChapterOne Online Tutoring for a student at Emanuele ES, in New Haven, CA once a week for a half hour |
| Joshua Hicok, Tyler Elsey, Chris Murphy, Kyle Teixeira, Christian Cugnetti | GA | FIRST Robotics Team 172, San Diego CA | Bambu Labs H2S 3D printer and Filament | We helped students design and manufacture a robot that could compete in the FIRST Robotics challenge as well as supported the team at the San Diego Regional Competition. |
| Pallavi Herle | GA-ASI | Chapter One at Emanuele Elementary, Union City CA | None | Chapter One reading session with 1st grade student Orion at Emanuele Elementary School |
| Zachary Simon | GA-ASI | STEM Organization - Robotics Competition, Osceola IN | None | Volunteered at robotics competition as a judge. |
| Belarmino Garcia | GA-EMS | Chapter One | None | I have been assigned a student through the chapter one program. Our first tutoring session is 02/20/2025. We will be having weekly 30 minutes reading/ tutoring session. |
| Anna Sophia Rorrer Warren, Daniel Scheuer, Zachary Koch | GA-EMS | University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO | None | This activity will revolve around the mentorship of 36 university students in the aerospace engineering bachelor’s degree program. I will be supporting the development of three senior design projects, connecting students to technical subject matter experts, and providing guidance on early career topics such as networking, interviewing, job applications, and professional communications. We will be attending virtual reviews and in April we will attend the senior design symposium in person. |
| Max Warren | GA-EMS | University of Mississippi Law School, Oxford MS | None | Presenting to the Center for Air and Space Law’s Drone Law & Policy class to give an engineering and technical perspective on drone application to students without an engineering background. |
| Max Warren | GA-EMS | University of Mississippi Law School, Oxford MS | None | Presenting to the Center for Air and Space Law's US Space Law class to give an engineering and technical perspective on orbital mechanics and rocket propulsion application to students without an engineering background. |
| Maxwell Warren | GA-EMS | University of Mississippi, Oxford MS | None | Attend school of engineering senior capstone design projects. The Oxford, MS office of GA-EMS works as a university affiliate to the University of Mississippi. This event will allow us to meet with professors and students alike and build GA’s relationship with the school of engineering. |
| Federico Halpern | GA | Muirlands Middle School, La Jolla CA | None | Participated in the Muirlands STEAM career science day. Parents from the community give short presentations in 3 classrooms describing their science careers and their life path to reach that. Used 1 hour to prepare a slide set the previous day, 4 hs to participate in the event. |
| Daren Wade | GA-ASI | SuperSTEM Saturday Science Fair, Escondido CA | None | Interaction with public at GA Table |
| Jason Flores | GA-ASI | Connect to Careers, San Marcos CA | None | We will be participate in a multi-industry breakfast with high school students and share about our company, position, and career journey, helping students learn about various careers and the skills and education needed. |
| Thomas Dittmann, Timothy Fasel | GA-ASI | Carmel Creek Elementary, San Diego CA | Zippered pouches for math materials, playdough set for Lego multiplication activity, reading nook materials, magnetic building blocks, containers, magic cubes, markers, modeling clay, classroom games and a spirograph. | We used the purchased math materials to demonstrate multiplication by building arrays, while also setting up other STEM activities, games, and reading nook in the classroom. |
| Bhumika Hasan | GA | Aerospace Robotics Competition, San Diego CA | None | I charged hours for the volunteer activities Aerospace Robotics Competition on 5/16-5/17. |
| CORY COTTONARO | GA-ASI | Connect to Careers, San Marcos CA | None | Volunteered time only to discuss career opportunities with high school students and answered questions. |
| Oscar Gutierrez | GA-EMS | Chapter One | None | Reading tutor for Chapter One program |
| Kathryn Ryerse (Patton) | GA-ASI | Chapter One | None | As a Chapter One volunteer, I had the privilege of working with Penny, a bright and enthusiastic first grader. My role focused on supporting her early literacy development, fostering a love for reading, and building her confidence in foundational skills. Each session was tailored to her needs, blending interactive reading activities, phonics practice, and fun games to keep her engaged. Penny’s curiosity and eagerness to learn made our time together both rewarding and impactful, and it was inspiring to see her progress and excitement as she grew as a reader. |
| Kyle Aven | GA-EMS | Batesville Junior High School, Batesville MS | None | 3. Description of actual activity performed by GA employee: * I used my GASSSS allotted hours mentoring students as they prepared for competition in the Technology Student Association (TSA). I assisted them with project planning, material selection, material procurement, documentation, construction, coding, testing, and presentation practice. I also traveled with the students to their state and national competitions. |
| Bret Keller | GA-ASI | Carmel Del Mar Elementary, San Diego CA | 2 Ozobot Ari Robots https://shop.ozobot.com/collections/single-bots/products/ari-entry-kit | Setup, Delivered, and trained Science Teacher on the use of the robots. Went over curriculum with each Grade on what they will do with the robots. |