Moraine Valley Community College student Andy Lien was accepted to study with the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) program during the spring 2025 semester. As outlined on nasa.gov, the program is “designed to challenge and build student knowledge and skills by focusing on NASA’s mission goals, collaboration and career pathways.”
Lien is a first-year student in the Engineering Science Program at Moraine Valley and a graduate of Carl Sandburg High School. He shared that he found the opportunity with NASA after asking a professor for internship ideas. “It was really cool, and I applied for fun. I was surprised I got in,” Lien mused.
NCAS requires applicants to submit community college transcripts, as well as a 300-word explanation of why they want to participate in the program. Lien shared, “I just wrote down everything about why I’m interested in STEM and why I can relate to maybe one day working for NASA.”
Lien also participates in Moraine Valley’s STEM Club and the Engineering Pathways Program, a competitive program which provides a cost-effective way to guarantee transfer admission into the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He plans to major in aerospace engineering. “I’ve developed that interest since I was 10 years old,” Lien said. “My dad took me to our first air show, and I was like, ‘The planes are amazing!’”
The three missions Lien will participate in with NCAS include Mission 1: Discover; Mission 2: Explore; and Mission 3: Innovate. The first mission sets a baseline for the future missions through a five-week online course. During the second mission, students will participate in a gamified simulation mission to the moon or Mars. Finally, during a three-week hybrid capstone project, students will prepare online for two weeks prior to visiting a NASA Field Center for additional hands-on programming.
Lien, who chose Moraine Valley due to the college’s affordability, shared that he would like to work on key skills during the program. “I want to gain some critical thinking skills, communication skills and maybe network with other people,” he said.
Lien also was recently named to Moraine Valley’s Fall 2024 President’s List, which recognizes a semester grade point average of 3.75 to 4.00.
For news media inquiries, contact Madisson Younglove, Moraine Valley assistant director of communications, at (708) 974-5281 or younglovem2@morainevalley.edu.
