It also landed him a spot in the coveted National Community College Aerospace Scholars program.

 

Last October, Bayne was one of only 89 community college students in the country to be selected for the program, which sends students to NASA facilities to teach them about careers in science and engineering and to encourage them to pursue careers in high-tech industries.

 

As part of the program, he spent three days at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where he took tours, met with NASA employees, and attended briefings. He also received real-world, hands-on experience through a team competition that challenged students to plan a Mars exploration mission and to build a model Mars rover that could pass a series of test.

 

When asked how his team performed, Bayne smiles and simply states, “We won.” What did the team win? Bragging rights mostly, says Bayne. The team also had a chance to meet Gene Krantz, the NASA flight director who led the team that brought the Apollo 13 astronauts home safely in 1970.

 

Bayne says he is definitely intrigued by the idea of exploring space, but he still has not settled on the type of engineer that he’d like to become. He hopes his classes at John Tyler will help him figure that out.

 

“The teachers at Tyler really guide you and encourage you, and they give you advice from their own experience.” After graduating from Tyler, he plans to transfer to a four-year university to work on his bachelor’s degree.