Presidio gives rocketry team a hero’s welcome

By DIANA AGUIRRE AREMENDÁRIZ

Students Ana Karen Nieto and Gwynelle R. Condino, along with teacher Shella R.  Condino, were warmly received on Wednesday, February 8th, by the people of Presidio after visiting the current president of the United States, Barack Obama, in Washington D.C. Janet Nieto, Ana Karen´s sister, is a student at Texas Tech University in Lubbock and also participated in the visit to the White House.

About two in the afternoon the people of Presidio were already awaiting their arrival with banners, welcome placards and toy skyrockets representing the competition “America Rocketry Challenge”, for which they were selected from the city of Virginia to present their project on rocketry to the president.

The emotional meeting with the president was a historic moment for the city of Presidio and the personal lives of participants. Karen Nieto, 17, is a student at Presidio High School and is setting new goals in her life. “I wanted to study criminology, but now that I´ve experienced this, I would like to devote myself to the study of aerospace engineering, because it has given me many opportunities up to date, as I´ve met people and many places I never thought I´d meet,” she said.

“When I saw the President I was very nervous, and did not know what to do, but then I started to remember everything I had to say. We presented the project to him, we mentioned all the things that we are going to do this year, he asked where we came from, among other things. It was really cool to be there,” said Ana Karen.

Obviously, the meeting with the president encouraged the contestants as well as their parents. In the case of Ana Karen and Janet, their parents Lydia and Hilario Nieto, are proud of the achievement of their children. “We are from the city of Chihuahua and we´ve lived here for five years because we wanted to offer our children better opportunities, because we have always supported them, and they have always liked to study. So we are happy to see what they have achieved,” said Lydia Nieto.

“When they told me that the President of the United States had invited me and three other students to the White House, I began to scream. I could not believe it. I told Ana that she would come with me and we were both excited. She could not believe it, and I said that it was true. So I spoke to Virginia again to confirm if it was true that we would be going to the White House with the President” the teacher shared.

“I was not near the President. We were in a separate room from the parents. I just saw him pass by, but being invited by Obama… I can only say ´my God, blessed God” said Condino, the girls´ teacher.

(photo by ROMELIA ELGUEZABAL) Student Ana Karen Nieto and teacher Shella Condino are welcomed home.

Teacher Condino, her daughter Gwynelle and her husband, are from the Philippines, and they came to the United States almost ten years ago. “As a mother I am proud that they chose my daughter, because I think she deserved to participate, but whoever was chosen I’m very happy of what we have accomplished. I´ve been a teacher for 19 years, although that was not my main vocation, because I wanted to be an astronaut, and I still want to be that, but I am a teacher and I love it.” Gwynelle, a young 12-year-old student, talked about her experience to this media source. “For the first time I felt very nervous, and knowing that I was there in front of the president has been a very exciting experience,” she said.

With support from various companies who contributed financially to making the trip a reality, the parents´ efforts have undoubtedly been an important tool not only in encouraging their children to study but also in contributing to fundraising activities. “The efforts made ​​by the parents of my students –come to meetings, working together to support their children– have also been essential to helping them reach their goals. The students work with me after school, and I like to contribute to my students in this way, so I feel that we succeeded, that we reached the top, and I thank God for that,” said teacher Condino. In addition, she said, “Team work is rewarded, because it is not only my work, there were many people behind supporting. I work with students and with teachers Alison Crucido and Adelina Sánchez, who, thanks to them, it has been possible to achieve the success that the people of Presidio are enjoying now. “

The competition organizers sought to represent the past, the present and the future, reason for which they chose Janet Nieto (Anna Karen´s sister), 20 and current student at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, who had already participated in this project to represent the past; Karen Nieto was chosen to represent the present, because she is the only one who has participated before and is still in high school; finally, young Gwynelle, a middle-school student, was chosen to represent the future, since this is her first year in competition and is familiar with the project.