STARBASE Nebraska works to change lives

By: Megan Palera
mpalera@klkntv.com

Tucked away on the National Guard Air Base in Lincoln, sits a classroom catered towards fifth graders eager to learn about science and math.

One of those fifth graders, now an electrical engineering college student, is Brian Plank. “I know that it's always been a passion but STARBASE was just a great opportunity for me to see it a young age and see the different possibilities out there,” said Plank.

Opportunity is what STARBASE Nebraska has been providing for the past ten years. It's a five day science, technology, engineering and math academy, action packed from the beginning.

“Fly flight simulators, they'll learn about aviation, about space, they learn about nanotechnology, chemistry, physics, all kids of different science and math areas,” said STARBASE Director, Sherry Pawelko.

Wednesday, the academy opened up its classroom to the public and invited back former graduates like Cody Merwick. The ROTC Drill Team Commander has his whole life planned out, and it started after STARBASE.

“It made me more likening technology. So that's what I think I'm going to do in my future career. I want to go to the Air National Guard and become a mechanic,” said Merwick.

Proof that this is not just a classroom, but a lifetime of possibilities. In the past ten years, STARBASE has reached more than 112,000 students in the Lincoln area. Many whom went on to land careers in the science and math industries.