DreamUp Postflight Analysis Team Aloe Vera (Agua Dulce)

Hello, my name is Casey Morrison and this is my second year as a facilitator at iLEAD Agua Dulce. In all honesty, I never considered myself to be a “science person”. As a learner, science was always my least favorite subject. I struggled with various courses all throughout my academic career. However, I am definitely an open-minded individual and I’m willing to try almost anything once. Therefore, when I was approached about doing the Dream Up project, I was willing to give it a go. Based on what I already knew about my learners, I believed this project to be a good fit. I never really thought that our experiment would be selected, due to the fact that other sites had facilitators leading them that specialized in science. However, after meeting with Kathleen Fredette several times, her ongoing encouragement, positivity, and support guided us along the way. I learned a great deal from this project and would definitely consider trying it again in the future. Most importantly, I learned that we really can do anything we set out to do, as long as we maintain a growth mindset. I am so very proud of all of the grit and determination displayed by my learners. I am so excited that they get to be a part of something so special. Go Team Aloe! You shine!

My name is Samantha Diem, and I am a 7th grade learner at iLEAD Agua Dulce. I started with iLEAD at SCVi in kindergarten. I am part of Team Aloe Vera. I enjoy animating, reading, and football. I have been a Girl Scout since kindergarten. Science has been a topic of interest for me, particularly robotics and engineering. One of the first things that got me interested in science was when we had STEAM day at school in 2nd grade. In my team’s Aloe Vera project I hope to learn more about what I can do to help with air pollution. I am glad that I participated in Dream Up because this is a really unique opportunity, and I am so proud of myself and my team for getting our microgravity experiment selected to be sent up to the ISS.

My name is Cody Frencher and I’m in 7th grade at iLEAD Agua Dulce. This is my second year at iLEAD Agua Dulce. I thought it would be a fun experience to be part of DreamUp plus there was no harm in trying right? I’ve learned so much from being part of this project, it’s actually crazy! This was my first venture into science and my greatest yet.

I really enjoy learning in general but specifically about space and sports. I thoroughly enjoy basketball and since I’m 5’7 I have a great advantage. I always dreamed of being in the
NBA. I also dream of being a musician– with all the negativity in rap songs and hip hop, I want to hopefully influence generation Z or generation alpha and get the hate and negativity to a point where it doesn’t spread as easily.

My name is Leo Cuellar and my school is iLEAD Agua dulce, I’m in the seventh grade. My group is sending aloe vera to see the growth in outer space. This year will be my second year attending an iLEAD school. The reason I chose to be apart of Dream Up is because it sounded interesting and I like a challenge. I have always been interested in science because in the fifth grade I was chosen out of one hundred kids to participant in a district-wide science fair. An activity I enjoy is sports, particularly baseball. A few things I learned from this project is how hard it is to send something into outer space and how much dedication and hard work the astronauts do to complete an experiment. Something I’m passionate about is baseball. I also play video games and I help coach my little brother soccer team.

I love to play soccer. I am in the Desert Winds Soccer all-star team right now. I have been playing soccer for five years now. I am usually in mid-field. Last season, I was the goalie. Soccer is a great sport for many reasons: exercise, to learn how to play with a team, and to have fun. I also love to write books. I have written a total of five stories last year, and they are all horror. I prefer writing horror over any other genre. It is such an interesting topic. I also like to draw. Even though I’m not the best at it, I can definitely practice. I am happy about a lot of my drawings though. It’s a win-win for me because I can draw the book covers to my books!
My creativity will definitely help me in the future. Maybe even my soccer skills too? We will have to see then.