KCNSC recruiters connect with collegiate students at rocketry event in southern New Mexico
Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC), managed by Honeywell FM&T hit the road in June to participate in the Spaceport America Cup, a student rocketry competition and conference held near Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Billed as the world's largest intercollegiate rocket engineering competition for student rocketry teams, the event (June 19-24) drew more than 5,900 rocketeers from 24 countries and six continents, according to Spaceport America Cup's website. KCNSC, which also has operations in Albuquerque, was a platinum sponsor for this year's event. (https://spaceportamericacup.com/)
"The biggest attraction about Spaceport is seeing so many students we would not have the opportunity or access to, and who have such a great interest in what we do here at KCNSC," said Glory Vaughn-Walker, KCNSC talent acquisition manager.
Vaughn-Walker said that a lot of great schools, including Tier 1 research schools, take part in the Spaceport America Cup. Many of the students who stopped to talk with KCNSC recruiters were entering their final year of college and actively seeking internships as well as full-time positions.
" Students are specifically targeting internships, as well as full-time positions. Being a major sponsor of the event allowed us to show students our commitment, and in turn, we saw a great turnout for discussions on KCNSC's mission and our contributions to national security," said Kyle Pressly, a lead program manager.
Twice the number of students, including more from around the globe, participated in the event compared to 2022. Spaceport America Cup posted online that there were 78 international teams and 80 national teams competing. Teams launched solid, liquid, and hybrid rockets, targeting altitudes of 10,000 and 30,000 feet.
Pressly said that they were able to talk with students about KCNSC's active Research and Sounding Rockets (RASR) program and had discussions with university sponsors for opportunities to partner in future RASR testing.
"Spaceport America was a great opportunity to connect with talented students in a unique atmosphere. It was great to see firsthand the talent of these individuals with their novel rocketry and payload designs on full display," Pressly said.
"We concentrate a lot on engineering, but this has also drawn a great deal of interest from other parts of the business, such as computer science," Vaughn-Walker said. "This broadens the door even more to even more young talent. It's a really good fit for our business."
