Twenty-five years of exploration

“We thought the best use of the opportunity at NC State was to focus on science, math, and technology....For the need being addressed, frankly a program I would have benefited from coming out of high school is, ‘I’m a sophomore in high school. I like science, math, physics, and chemistry, but I don't really understand where this goes. I don't really understand what engineering is...’”

“A lot of these kids only know so much as to know, ‘Hey, I like these types of subjects’ but they don't even know the questions to be asking because they aren't exposed to those types of professional careers in their area through their schools. SATELLITE was designed to bring together those students at the end of their sophomore year with really engaging professors and kind of light their fire if they're interested in something to talk about electrical engineering, and botany, and all the things you could do with a mathematics degree to get them thinking.”

"SATELLITE was designed to bring together students at the end of their sophomore year with really engaging professors and kind of light their fire."

PROFILE

Ryne Jones

He/him  •  Counselor and Co-Director 2011-2012

“I would say that SATELLITE has helped me grow not just as a Counselor and a Co-Director, but then later as a classroom educator and alumni mentor, with Katherine Drake Stowe, to the Co-Directors . Each time has been a different season of growth, if you will. So as a counselor, you're 19, 20, 21 years old, and put in an advisory role with people that aren't that much younger than you that you could have technically gone to school with. It was an opportunity for me, because I'm from rural North Carolina, to share with people like me even if we weren't from the same part of the state, the different opportunities that exist beyond high school, not just at NC State, but in general. And then, when I became a Co-Director, it was another shock to the system, both in terms of leadership development and accountability.”

“For me, SATELLITE means opportunity and exploration. In terms of campers, Counselors, Co- Directors, Alumni, friends of SATELLITE, the people on campus, the professors, the faculty members that come in and give talks, it really is an opportunity for us to explore new areas together, not just in STEM, but in leadership development. To explore what it means to leave your hometown for the first time. Who had to wind their way down a mountain, or who had to take a ferry to get here and how many people had never ridden a city bus before? How many people had not been to Raleigh? Who hasn’t had roommates before? For the first time getting to be on your own and seeing the things that you’re interested in and to be challenged in new ways.”

"Who had to wind their way down a mountain, or who had to take a ferry to get here and how many people had never ridden a city bus before? How many people had not been to Raleigh? Who hasn’t had roommates before? For the first time getting to be on your own and seeing the things that you’re interested in and to be challenged in new ways."

PROFILE

Bob Patterson

He/him  •  Alumni Distinguished Professor of Crop Science

“I have thoroughly enjoyed and highly valued having the opportunity to participate in [the SATELLITE] program. To me, SATELLITE addresses the heart and soul of what Chancellor John Tyler Caldwell wanted to do when he was here himself.” Paraphrasing John T Caldwell, Patterson said, “‘Every year that passes in the life of a young person represents a decreasing opportunity to have a healthy, positive impact on the well being, and the hopes and dreams of that individual.’ So by having the SATELLITE program, reaching into the high school sophomore group, you're giving an opportunity that is so highly valued.”

“We talk about community supported agriculture, communities where farm families come together and grow vegetables together...how if you share your knowledge, you build trust and relationships and a healthy community. So we talked about more than just growing vegetables -- we talked about growing a healthy community and how that is so, so important.”

"We talked about more than just growing vegetables -- we talked about growing a healthy community and how that is so, so important."

PROFILE

Sonja Jones

She/her  •  Counselor and Co-Director 2011-2012

"Satellite was probably the most meaningful thing I did in my undergraduate career. For so many reasons. One, being a co-director gave me the opportunity to really develop as a leader and have a large amount of responsibility that I don’t think a lot of college aged students have the opportunity to experience. and a lot of ownership. and it also reinforced my passion for engaging youth in STEM. Really understanding inequities and underrepresentation and trying to find meaningful ways to bridge that gap. And I think that has really carried on for the past 10 years."
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"I still am very outspoken about advocating to improve opportunities for young adults to pursue higher education, to pursue a STEM career, to have that exposure and mentorship that they otherwise might not have. I think it solidified that passion of being involved in the community and making sure you’re doing meaningful and impactful work."
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"Whether or not the students went to NC State, whether or not they pursued STEM, is not really the point. It’s great when they do. It’s great to see past satellite campers become Caldwell Fellows, become co-directors, become NC State students, of course that’s great, but even more importantly even if that doesn’t happen, at least they know this world is possible and it’s attainable and achievable and it doesn’t feel like it’s for someone else."

"Whether or not the students went to NC State, whether or not they pursued STEM, is not really the point. It’s great when they do.... but even more importantly if that doesn’t happen, at least they know this world is possible and it’s attainable and achievable and it doesn’t feel like it’s for someone else."

“I spoke at both the 10th and 20th anniversaries of SATELLITE at the banquet, and SATELLITE has grown to something I never dreamed or imagined. When we started, we realized that there was a need, and I didn't know if it was going to be a one time program that would happen the summer of 1997 and that would be it. And then along the way, we received funding from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and other nonprofits to help bring about sustainability, and now it's really a mainstay for NC State. It has become part of the normal summer landscape, that is bringing students and forming bonds, not only among the scholars who've come to NC State as part of SATELLITE, but also making connections with the faculty and administration so much so that it's an expected camp...That brings me a great deal of pride and happiness that what we envisioned as students continues now that we are alumni, and this is the 25th anniversary of SATELLITE.”

“SATELLITE shows the impact that students can have on the university. Typically, students engage university with the posture of receiving; receiving an education and degrees conferred. SATELLITE is an example of how students gave a gift to university that continues to give now that has strengthened its connection back to rural areas, and really goes back to the founding of NC State as a land grant institution in 1887. SATELLITE is really living into that history and heritage in a very dynamic way. And it was student led and initiated, and that is profound.”

“Typically, students engage university with the posture of receiving; receiving an education and degrees conferred. SATELLITE is an example of how students gave a gift to university that continues to give now that has strengthened its connection back to rural areas, and really goes back to the founding of NC State as a land grant institution in 1887.”