Mikaela Henness-Wilson says she has always been “really good at math.”

She’s not bragging, mind you, just explaining how she garnered a spot in a prestigious summer program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas.

Wilson, who will be a senior at Fountain-Fort Carson High School this year, is one of 84 young women from 29 states chosen for the Women in STEM (science, technology engineering and math) High School Aerospace Scholars Project.

She and other scholars will spend next week at the center in the so-called WISH program, planning a simulated mission to Mars, designing space vehicles and working with a fictitious budget to get the job done.

“WISH gives some of our brightest future innovators a chance to experience some of the exciting challenges that NASA engineers and scientists face on a daily basis,” said Ellen Ochoa, Johnson Space Center deputy director.

One of the most important aspects of the WISH program, Ochoa noted, is the mentoring provided by female NASA engineers and scientists.

“It shows the young women that there are a variety of opportunities for them in technical fields.”

Mikaela is excited by that. “I have noticed that it is mostly men who dominate science and math, so I think seeing successful women will give me confidence of what I could be doing if I really work hard, that women can do everything men can.”

The scholars will speak with current space station astronauts via ham radio as part of a student-astronaut program called Amateur Radio on the International Space Station.

Mikaela says that she has always loved math. “In grade school I knew the times tables before anyone. Seeing equations and finding things out that way really excites and challenges me.”

Her schedule this fall includes Advanced Placement or college duel enrollment in most classes. She will take Calculus 2, physics, political science, Spanish and sociology.

“She certainly doesn’t get her math aptitude from me,” her mother Tara Wilson laughs. “I never helped her with her homework after she hit middle school.” And she never had to nag her to get it done. “She is self-driven.”

But Mikaela says her mother and father Kristopher Wilson have given her a lot of support. “My mom and dad pushed me to be better.”

Mikaela has been co-captain of school’s junior varsity soccer team, and is a member of the National Honor Society. She has done volunteer work at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

It was her academic counselor Markus Moeder-Chandler that suggested she apply for the space program.

“She has a strong dedication to science and math, and I knew her coursework, grades and post high school goals were a match,” he said.

The mentorship part of the program is particularly important, Moeder-Chandler noted. “Every year I’m amazed by the STEM scholarships that go unclaimed because there is not a lot of support for young female students. I try to encourage their interest, because it is such an unfulfilled area.”

The application process was rigorous. She had to complete a series of NASA-generated science and math assignments in the spring while keeping up her school load. The participants were selected based on completion of the lessons that focused on space exploration.

“They were pretty hard,” Mikaela says. She also was required to write an essay on why she wanted to attend the program. “I said I wanted to explore new things and had never thought of space engineering.”

She wants to study mechanical engineering, possibly at Colorado School of Mines. “I want to build things to make processes better. And maybe get a minor in aeronautical engineering, so I can work at a commercial space company.”

She believes the NASA program will help her with those goals. “It’s going to get me out of my comfort zone.”

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