Westridge Students Advance to the National Finals of the Team America Rocketry Challenge

Congratsulations to Maddie Emslie ’16, Emily Guarin ’17, Hannah Kim ’17, and their Girl Scout Troop for advancing to the national finals of the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) on Saturday, May 10.

With 5,000 annual participants, TARC is the world’s largest student rocket contest and a key piece of the aerospace industry’s strategy to build a stronger U.S. workforce in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The competition is sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association, the National Association of Rocketry, and NASA, and 80% of surveyed competition alumni report a plan to pursue a STEM-focused major in college.

Maddie, Emily, and Hannah have spent 7 months designing and building their rocket from scratch and test-flying it to meet the challenge goals. In a competition where virtually all the finalists are senior and male, Maddie, Emily, and Hannah’s team is all girls, none of whom are old enough to have studied the trigonometry, calculus, physics, and the aerodymics required to calculate their design and flight parameters.

Maddie has also earned her Girl Scout Gold Award this year, the highest honor a Senior Scout is eligible to receive. A Gold Award project must identify a community issue, involve community partners, and have long-term benefits and sustainable support involving at least 80 hours of planning, leadership, and implementation. Emily and Hannah are currently completing their Gold Awards.

Westridge School, 324 Madeline Drive, Pasadena, (626) 799-1053 ext. 200 or visit www.westridge.org.