USC Viterbi Hosts Space Panel and “First Man” Movie Screening for Students

(left to right) Rocket scientist and aerospace engineer Anita Sengupta, former NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, USC interim president and former president and CEO of the Aerospace Corporation Wanda Austin, director of space operations at SpaceX Garrett Reisman sat on a space pioneers panel at the Regal Cinemas L.A. Live 14 in Downtown , Calif. Photo by Gus Ruelas

By Lauren A. Jones | October 11, 2018

USC HOSTED STUDENTS FROM THE Corporation, Dr. Wanda Austin. engineering field; all earned degrees from Neighborhood Academic Initiative (N.A.I.), Austin was joined on the “Trojan Space USC. Armstrong, who was the first man one of the university’s community pro- Pioneers” panel by Charles Bolden, a former on the moon, was completing his graduate grams, for a panel on pioneers in space NASA Administrator, Garrett Reisman, degree in the astronautical engineering exploration and research followed by a director of space operations at SpaceX and program in the USC Viterbi School of private film screening of “First Man,” on rocket scientist, and aerospace engineer Engineering during the time depicted in Friday, Oct. 5 in downtown Los Angeles. Anita Sengupta, who served as the panel’s the movie, “First Man.” “I hope that it reinforces for the moderator. The panelists discussed riveting USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering [students], the importance of a STEM topics surrounding personal interactions currently leads among colleges in recruiting education in the sciences, technology, with , the landscape of space women in engineering with women engineering and math, which will allow research and their personal accomplishments accounting for 45 percent of incoming them to pursue their dreams and aim high,” in the industry. USC freshmen majoring in engineering— stated USC interim President and former Each panelist had a commonality beyond twice the national average. president and CEO of the Aerospace their extensive experience in the aerospace Growing up as a young adolescent in the have resources to explore their interests in STEM. Sulara Merghani is a junior at Foshay and enrolled in N.A.I. “From the NAI program, I’ve gotten motivation,” described Merghani. “I’ve learned to be determined, to go for what I want, to have a dream and go for my dream. Following the panel, students were provided with an exclusive screening of the new movie “First Man,” the story of Neil Armstrong’s journey being the first man to land on the moon. The biographical drama directed by Damien Chazelle, starring Ryan Gosling, is based on the book “First Students from USC’s Neighborhood Academic Initiative posed for a photo before the screening Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong” that of the movie “First Man” at the Regal Cinemas L.A. Live 14 in Downtown Los Angeles, Calif. was written by James R. Hansen. Photo by Gus Ruelas “I’m in the health academy at school and we read about life in space and all the Bronx, New York, Dr. Austin had never I’m aiming for and so being the first in struggles of being in space and what the heard of NASA research mathematician my family is really important.” have to go through, so coming Katherine Johnson whose contributions to Williams hopes to carry the torch set to see the movie with my fellow health space were depicted in the film “Hidden forth by pioneers like Johnson and Dr. academy students — it’s like we learned Figures.” In 2015, former President Austin. Though there is a competitive about this and now we’re going to come awarded Johnson the U.S. number of female students, the number and see it for the first time. I’m looking Presidential Medal of Freedom. of enrolled Black students in the Viterbi forward to it,” commented Merghani. “One of the important things that we School is still severely lacking. “One small step for man, one giant leap have to do is make sure that young women “Right now there are only approximately for mankind,” Neil Armstrong once stated. very early in their careers are exposed 50 Black students in the Viterbi School Pioneers like Johnson, McNair, Austin, to the fact that there are women doing overall,” according to Williams. Bolden, and Armstrong have chartered the amazing things in science and technology,” “We work really hard to bring about path for the next generation of space pioneers. emphasized Austin. diversity in the field,” said Bolden, whose It is this exact philosophy that led N.A.I. career spans 34 years with the Marine and Foshay Learning Center alumna Sierra Corps and 14 years as a member of NASA’s Williams to earn her B.A. in industrial Office. Bolden also serves as a and systems engineering from Viterbi. USC Trustee. He traveled to orbit four Williams sees Dr. Austin’s accomplishments times aboard the between as a source of inspiration. 1986 and 1994. “Just being first-generation, low-income, It was not until Bolden’s mentor, Dr. Ron and a minority student in all of its entirety I McNair, who was an African American feel like it makes your story and what you’re physicist and NASA astronaut, encouraged going for, the reason behind what you’re him to apply for a specialized program that doing, more powerful,” stated Williams, Bolden even considered being an astronaut. who is currently obtaining her master’s “I never dreamed of going to space,” degree in operations research engineering Bolden remarked. “There’s still glass ceilings from USC. “Being able to say that I’m here, and that’s the disappointing part. We still I’m a graduate student at USC, and I have have a lot of work to do.” Charles Bolden speaks to a pair of USC’s Neighborhood Academic Initiative students the same degree as the interim president It is the precise reason USC has focused ahead of the “First Man” screening at the is amazing because there’s no one that I its efforts into ensuring students from Regal Cinemas L.A. Live 14 in Downtown Los really know that’s had that position that public schools like Foshay Learning Center Angeles, Calif. Photo by Lauren A. Jones