Space team seeks to turn school into science destination

"What's so exciting is that this is a 100% student-driven project that we believe will help NASA and private industries better understand space," Serra President John Moran said. "There aren't many other schools, let alone high schools, adding to our knowledge of space."

Serra is one of nine national high schools, along with Santa Ana Calvary Chapel, taking part in the International Space Space Station program run through the Quest Institute for Quality Education of San José.

The school has received $50,000 in grants from the Ahmanson Foundation to participate in the program, Moran said. The school has also benefited from the use of the Makers Space, labs, materials and professional guidance from engineers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, given that most of the team members are part of the National Society of Black Engineers junior chapter there.

Last year, the space team studied germination rates of Wisconsin Fast Plants in space.

So far, there has been no word from NASA on how the 3D-printing experiment is going.

"We're all going to be waiting for updates," said Toler, whose role is to make sure the experiment can survive the rigors of space travel. "I just think to have something up in space right now is amazing, though."

What has impressed Irvine and Moran about the team is the members' ability to balance space work with a full slate of academic and extracurricular duties.

Holbert, who is headed to Loyola Marymount in the fall, is chess club president, a member of the school's soccer and gardening teams and is on the robotics and engineering clubs.

Leonard, who is deciding between USC and Howard University, plays football and is a member of the Grace, gardening and robotic and coding clubs. He's also a school ambassador.

Toler plays basketball and golf, while Dunn, who will be playing American football in Italy next year, is involved in the school's literary review, is the writing club president and plays football, soccer and rugby.

Cruz, the lone freshman, is involved in coding and robotics.

"It's just an incredible group that is very dedicated to themselves and the work," Irvine said.

On Monday, the space team was honored on the California Senate floor in Sacramento by state Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena).

Bradford noted that Serra is the first inner-city school whose students are predominantly non-white to participate in the International Space Station program.

"This is part of the school's ongoing efforts to strengthen STEM education for all students, especially underserved students in South Los Angeles," Bradford said in a statement. "These students I am honoring are incredibly talented scholars, and it is a privilege to have them recognized by the California State Senate."

While the team members are proud of their accomplishments in space, they've each mentioned the excitement knowing that they've piqued interest in STEM and spaces studies at Serra and in surrounding communities.

"We have some freshmen coming in next year just because of this program," Dunn said. "That used to be just for football and sports. Now we have students wanting to be part of our space program. It's incredible."