iLEAD Agua Dulce’s DreamUp Launch Team Capsicum

Hi! My name is Alena. I’m in 6th grade, and I love going to school at iLEAD Agua Dulce. I really like project-based learning, where I can do things that are hands-on. I like working in groups, figuring out solutions, and sometimes taking the lead. I love horses. I have been horseback riding for 10 years. I compete in the Hunter-Jumper category and show in the 2’3”-2’6” division. When I grow up, I want to be either a veterinarian or an anesthesiologist because I enjoy helping people and animals. I like hiking and climbing on the trails at Vasquez Rocks. The rock formations are beautiful. I love the history and the views. My favorite subject in school is math because I think it’s fun to solve problems and get stuff right. My school has farm animals. I really like learning about different animals in Animal Science. I have been learning a lot about lizards and snakes, and I think it is really interesting. I am excited to have the opportunity to be a part of DreamUp. I am excited to send red peppers up to space and to see the growth process of the seeds in a zero-gravity environment. I can’t wait to learn more about red peppers and space. Thank you for the opportunity, Kathleen, Shawna, and Mrs. Hoppe.

Hi! My name is Maxim Van Rooy, and I am in 7th grade at iLEAD Agua Dulce. Currently, I have a few interests that keep me motivated and excited to achieve my goals and discover new horizons. Some of them are directly related to sports; the others to the new fascinating projects at my school. My first biggest achievement was in karate, for which I earned a red belt third degree and am nearing the black belt. I am very proud of this achievement because it took me about eight years to get to it. My next great achievement, I hope, will be in tennis. I started to play about six months ago and already have some decent results I am proud of. It is very competitive, but my goal is to win one day at a local tournament. Music is a very big passion of mine. I’ve played the electric guitar for about five years now, and I just started learning the drums. Over my music journey, I’ve learned so many challenging songs by classic rock performers like Slash from Guns N’ Roses, my role model in music. I want to learn to play like him one day. I am very excited to be part of the iLEAD band program. But most of all I am super excited to be the lead guitar player for my band at the Jamboree performance at the end of the school year! Lastly, I am fascinated to have been selected to be a member of the DreamUp Launch Team! When I was in 6th grade, we came up with blueberries as our choice of research. I loved the whole process. It was so fun and informational. Although our topic was not selected, when I heard that the Capsicum team needed more team members, I knew immediately that I wanted to do it. I am learning a lot of interesting and different things throughout this project. I am very thankful to my facilitators, Ms. Hoppe, Ms. Fredette, and Ms. Sonia. I hope together as a team we will do great work and be proud of it!

Hello! My name is Connor, and I am so excited to be a part of Team Capsicum! I go to iLEAD Agua Dulce and am in the 7th grade. My favorite subject is English Language Arts because I like learning about history. I am really active. I like drumming, snowboarding, fingerboarding, and bodyboarding. I guess you can say I like boarding. I love space — so much that I know Alpha Centauri is the most habitable planet to humans, but it’s 400 light-years away. I am very excited to be doing this project because I’ve done this once before. In 5th grade, I was part of the Green Mung Bean project in 2019-2020. My favorite part of this experience was getting to see my family in Florida for the first time in seven years. We even went on a fan boat ride with my family to look for crocodiles. I am excited to go back to see the rocket launch at the Kennedy Space Center. My favorite thing is hearing the sonic boom. Can’t wait to see you there.

My name is Liam Williamson. I am a 7th grader at iLEAD Agua Dulce. Some of my favorite hobbies are gaming, swimming, and reading. At home, I contribute by maintaining some of our indoor pets and helping with feeding of horses and cleaning stalls. One of my passions is learning to cook and bake. I have always had an interest in aerospace and technology. At school, I enjoy working with circuits and 3D printing projects in our Exploratorium. I am interested in astronaut body conditioning to be able to work and be ready for the journey of reentering the atmosphere. It’s been a dream of mine to participate in a project such as DreamUp.

Hello! My name is Edeline Miramontes, and I am in the 6th grade at iLEAD Agua Dulce. Like most kids my age, I enjoy music, Netflix, and stop-motion movies. My favorite stop-motion movie is Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. I enjoy running with friends and family at the park and throwing a football around with my dad. My favorite subject in school is math. I keep improving, especially with integers, and that is really fun. I can find easy ways to do things. I really like project-based learning, hands-on learning, and working in groups. My step-mom and I collect Disney’s Mini Doorables, and I enjoy creating scenes with them around my room. I have liked Disney since I was in kindergarten, and now I collect Disney mini toys backpacks. DreamUp to Space is the best experience I’ve had at school. I am so thankful that my team’s experiment was chosen, and now I have the opportunity to go to Florida and see a rocket go up to space. I am so excited! This journey so far has been amazing, and I’m excited to see where this takes me and my team. The work is challenging on top of school work, but I can do this. This is really important to me. I’ve told my whole family how excited I am. I’m going to be a little nervous when presenting, but I’m OK with it. I am continuing to learn so many new things through this process and am very thankful for our “Mission Control” facilitators, Ms. Brown, Ms. Fredette, Ms. Sonia, and Ms Hoppe.