Presidio rocketry team students get hug from President Obama

By ROBERT HALPERN

PRESIDIO, WASHINGTON, DC – Three Presidio Rocketry Team members got a hug from President Barack Obama at the White House Science Fair Tuesday.

Sisters Janet Nieto and Ana Karen Nieto, Gwynelle Condino and Condino’s mother, Presidio educator and team sponsor Shella Condino were invited to the White House as only two teams representing TARC, Team America Rocketry Challenge, the world’s largest rocketry contest. Presidio has competed in TARC for the last five years and has had national finalist teams for three years.

Here’s how the meeting went with the president, according to a White House press pool report:

The girls introduced themselves and showed off four rockets they built. One was wrapped in yellow paper with cherry blossoms, and Obama said, “So these are your rocket designs? I’ve gotta say though this is not a tough looking rocket . . . with the flowers and birds and stuff.”

One of the Presidio students told the president they designed that rocket with Washington’s cherry blossoms in mind.

“It’s beautiful, you just don’t usually see rockets this pretty,” Obama said.

He asked about the terms of the competition.

The girls said the rocket has to reach a certain altitude (100 feet in the air) and carry two raw eggs without damaging them. They could not use metal because “it’s dangerous” and added they used fiberglass and had to keep the rocket’s weight under 650 grams.

Obama talked about helping his daughter Sasha with an egg-drop contest.

“We practiced by dropping it from the Truman balcony,” he said. “We had a whole bunch of prototypes and she ended up winning. So I’m hip to the whole egg thing; it’s tough.”

Ana Nieto said the girls are ESL (English Second Language) students. She said almost 90 percent of the students in her town are ESL and that they are from the third poorest district in Texas.

“We have to make it perfect the first time we build it, because we don’t have enough money to buy motors and fly our rockets another time,” Nieto said.

She said she is thankful for her ESL teacher and that she is determined to pursue a STEM career.

“We are inspired to pursue a STEM career,” she said. “Like before we didn’t have an idea of [how] it would change our life.”

“Well you guys inspire me,” Obama said. “And you couldn’t be better presenters.”

“You are going to be very successful,” he added.

The girls said a documentary is being filmed about their town of Presidio and gave Obama a copy of the film.

“We can be the poorest town and the oldest town but things are happening for Presidio and rocketry is one of them,” Nieto said.

As Obama turned to leave, student Gwynelle Condino stopped him and said meekly: “Um, Mr. Obama? We have a tradition in Presidio rocketry to have a group hug after every project.”

Obama said he likes that tradition and embraced the girls.

Presidio ISD Superintendent Dennis McEntire said Wednesday the school and the community are simply beside themselves with pride and accomplishment.

“We can’t give them enough credit and support them enough,” he said of the students and teacher/sponsor.

“When you look at what these students faced, so many challenges, but by being part of a program that promotes self-confidence, and with the right teacher, a student can accomplish anything,” McEntire said. “No question these kids have had to work hard and sacrificed their personal time to earn their accomplishments.”

He said the success of the Presidio rocketry program is indicative of a demand for excellence being pursued at Presidio ISD by students, their families, teachers, and administrators.

“We’re going to have more and more of this,” McEntire said. “It doesn’t matter what socioeconomic status a student is, rich or poor, everybody can attain and achieve success. These students epitomize this.”

The Presidio students represent the past, present and future of Blue Devils rocketry.

Janet Nieto is a 2011 PHS graduate and a freshman at Texas Tech University.

She was a TARC national finalist for three years and is level I Certified in High Power Rocketry. She has participated in the NASA Student Launch Initiative Advanced Rocketry program for three years.

Ana Nieto, a Presidio High School junior, is a two-time national finalist in TARC and has participated in the NASA Student Launch Initiative Advanced Rocketry program for two years.

Gwynelle Condino is a Lucy Rede Franco Middle School seventh-grader. Last summer, she participated at the NASA Student Launch Initiative Advanced Rocketry Workshop in Las Cruces, New Mexico where she won Best Rocketry Design and attained Level I High Power Rocketry Certification.  She is also a junior member of the National Association of Rocketry.

Janet Nieto and Ana Karen Nieto were members of the Presidio High School Rocketry Team that competed as a National Finalist in the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) in 2009, 2010, and 2011.

Gwynelle Condino is the leader of her TARC team this year.

With only one week to prepare for this extraordinary opportunity, team sponsors Condino and Mrs Adelina Sanchez worked to get the students and their exhibition ready.