SATELLITE
Science and Technology Enriching Lifelong Leaders in Tomorrow’s Endeavors
Annual Report 2015
North Carolina State University
May 9-13, 2015
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Report Contents
From the Co-Directors
3
A special message from the incoming Co-Director
4
Mission
5
History
6
Improvements and Action Plan
7
Program Highlights
8
Impact
9
Finances
10
Budget
11
Volunteer Staff
12
Support
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From the Co-Directors
SATELLITE successfully completed its 19th year
of camp this summer with 54 students and 23
counselors. We brought students to NC State
all the way from the mountains of Henderson
County to the Coast of Pender County.
Exciting activities included an impressive
nuclear reactor tour, a trip downtown to visit
the NC Museum of Natural Science, an
engaging science product invention project
facilitated by the Shelton Leadership Center,
and a challenging, teamwork oriented ropes
course run by our counselors.
We also increased our counselor to camper
ratio and expanded subjects covered during
the program. SATELLITE was new, but
maintained the core elements that make it so
impactful. We look forward to continued growth
and keeping the program exciting for many
years to come.
On May 13th, Josiah Keilson completed his two-year commitment as co-director to
SATELLITE. During his time, he served as both a counselor and co-director, growing the
program to its largest capacity ever and putting an increased focus on measurement of
impact and financial sustainability. Upon graduating with an Economics degree, he will
be moving to Washington D.C. to work with Deloitte Consulting’s federal practice.
Jacob Lineberry is the new senior co-director, and is studying Physics and Math. Over
the summer, Jacob completed an over 500 mile hike across Spain knows as “El Camino
de Santiago.” This will be his third year working with the program. Kevin Kauffman has
been selected to serve as the new junior co-director. Both co-directors are excited
about furthering the program’s financial sustainability and growing greater alumni and
business relations as the program enters its 20th year.
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From the 2016 incoming Co-Director
My name is Kevin Kauffman and I have the
honor of serving as the junior co-director for
the SATELLITE program’s 20th year in 2016. I
previously served with SATELLITE for the past
two years as the Director of Scheduling and as
a counselor.
I first became involved with SATELLITE during
my sophomore year of high school as a
camper, and it altered the trajectory of my
academic, professional, and personal life.
SATELLITE is a high impact program for all who
are involved and brings in some of the most
talented and compassionate individuals on the
campus of North Carolina State University,
from our counselors to professors, with a
mission to have impact in the lives of our
campers.
Attending SATELLITE was a key factor in my decisions to
pursue a degree in mechanical engineering and take on
leadership roles during my time at university.
As a camper (yes- that’s me as a high school sophomore to
the left!), I was amazed at the quality of individuals the
SATELLITE program chose as counselors, some of whom I
am still in contact with today.
As the first program alum to become a co-director, I am
now even more amazed by the potential I see in our
students and the passion shown by our volunteers. I am
excited to be able to serve our campers for the next two
years and contribute to the growth and sustainability of
SATELLITE.
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Mission
The mission of Science And Technology Enriching Lifelong Leadership In Tomorrow’s
Endeavors is to provide students from underserved high schools in North Carolina
with:

Opportunities to explore and engage with current issues and career paths in
the sciences and in technology-related disciplines through innovative lectures
and hands-on laboratory experiences.

Exposure to the university experience through on-campus housing
accommodations, tours of university facilities, and seminars with current
students and university staff.

Personal development activities related to leadership, reflection, diversity,
and cultural awareness.

Motivation for continued educational pursuit and achievement in science and
technology.
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History
In the spring of 1996, several students from North Carolina State University
participated in an experimental outreach program designed for motivated high
school sophomores from low-income public schools across the state. The success of
that year’s program laid the foundation for what has become the SATELLITE
program.
SATELLITE (Science And Technology Enriching Lifelong Leadership In
Tomorrow’s Endeavors) is a non-profit organization run by students from North
Carolina State University. It is designed to introduce students from rural North
Carolina high schools to science, technology, leadership, and related educational
opportunities and career paths through a five-day retreat on the N. C. State
campus.
North Carolina public schools receive disproportionate funding. Rural school
systems generally receive considerably less funding than their urban counterparts.
For this reason, students from rural communities often are not provided with
opportunities to develop to their full academic potential. These promising students
need guidance and encouragement early in their high school careers to explore
educational opportunities and career options. Many students who would otherwise
pursue the areas of science and technology have limited exposure to those areas
and fail to consider engaging in that line of inquiry.
The NC State SATELLITE program was created to address the needs of these
students by giving them exposure to resources, ideas, and opportunities that their
schools may have been unable to provide. SATELLITE also emphasizes the
importance of maintaining a broad, reflective, multidisciplinary outlook in the
typically specialized fields of science and technology.
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Improvements and Action Plan
2015 Improvements
Improvements made during preparation for the May 2015 program included:

Incorporating feedback and statistical findings from our program’s first ever
round of pre and post-survey evaluations, which were conducted during the
2014 program.

Restructuring our schedule to increase the time program participants spend
actively reflecting, discussing, and writing about what they are learning
during the program’s academic, leadership, and mentoring sessions.

Working more closely with the Raleigh community to increase support,
funding, and awareness of the program, in aims of building longer term
sponsorships.

Took tangible action steps toward beginning a program endowment.

Increased the nutritional quality of meals served throughout the program.
2016 Action Plan
Improvements to be made in preparation for the May 2016 program include:

Creating a SATELLITE Board of Advisors composed of faculty, sponsors, RTP
corporate leadership, and the current co-directors in order to continually
improve the overall quality of SATELLITE.

Developing more robust corporate and non-profit relationships with groups
such as RTP’s US2020 and The Science House.

Working with the board and University to create a reasonable timeline with
reachable benchmarks for the endowment.

Continue improvement of program evaluation and impact measurement.

Recruiting more heavily on NC State’s campus to increase the diversity of our
volunteer staff.
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2015 Program Highlights
Highlights of workshops attended by
the 2015 scholars:
Nuclear Reactor Tour - Students attended
a Nuclear Reactor tour and lecture at NC
State’s Nuclear Engineering Department.
Students consistently cited this as among
their favorite sessions of the whole
program, saying it was interesting,
exciting, and inspiring.
Multi-Disciplinary Engineering –
Students were given various
materials correlated to different
prices and qualities to simulate
the engineering planning,
design, budgeting, and creation
process. They were instructed to
find the most successful
outcome, leading to a discussion
of what merited success for a
real world-engineering project.
Paper and Pulp Science Manufacturing Lab –
Students received a paper and pulp science
lecture and learned through a hands lab
experience how Paper is chemically and
physically produced.
Straw Tower – Students competed in small
teams to build the tallest straw tower in the
designated amount of time with 50 straws and
a limited amount of tape. To encourage
communication learning and teamwork,
students could not speak during the time.
Scientific Ice Cream – The campers were
challenged to make the best ice cream by
using liquid nitrogen, cream, and various sweet
ingredients!
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Impact
By the Numbers:
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2
Co-Directors
26
Counselors
Counties Represented
87%:
of scholars reported
an increase in their
understanding of
careers in STEM
fields, with the
average increase
being by 53%
54
Program Participants
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Academic & leadership Sessions
78%:
of scholars reported an
increase in their knowledge
of global issues, such as the
environment and
sustainability, with the
average increase being by
39%
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58%:
of scholars reported
an increase in
confidence with their
science abilities, with
the average increase
being by 17%
Finances
PROGRAM/PROJECT BUDGET
Funding Source
Counselors Donated Time
Professors Donated Time
Program Coordinators Donated Time
Total Amount
$15,000
$200
$10,000
Explanatory Notes
All counselors serve as volunteers
All professors serve as volunteers
Both Co-Directors serve as volunteers
Donated time calculated by time commited at $10 per hour
$400 All NCSU tours, labs, lectures, etc. are donated
$2,100
Programming Donated
Alumni Donations
Total Income
$
Expenses Item
Housing
Transportation
Food
Counselors
Professors
Program Coodinators
Insurance
Adminstrative Cost
Programming
Total Expenses
27,700
Total Cost
Explanatory Notes
$4,200
$300
$2,500
$15,000
$200
$10,000
$350
$600
$1,000
$
34,150
1 NCSU Faculty will donate approximately 20 hours to the SATELLITE program this coming year.
NCSU Student Counselors will donate 1500 hours across the 5 days of the program. The value of
this time is calculated by determining the number of hours donated by NCSU faculty and
SATELLITE counselors multiplied by a rate of $10 per hour.
2 SATELLITE Co-directors will donate approximately 1000 hours across the 2015-2016 academic
year in preparation for the 2016 program. The value of this time is calculated by determining the
number of hours donated by SATELLITE Co-directors multiplied by a rate of $10 per hour.
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Budget
University Towers provided housing for students and counselors. Public
transportation (CAT Bus) was used for transportation downtown. Food was
primarily purchased at Sam’s Club and Food Lion, with most meals were made by
our Food Directors, Siddhartha Jandhyala and Akshatha Kiran in efforts to reduce
costs. We plan to continue targeting different food vendors in order to find more
discounts and thus decrease the cost of food for SATELLITE.
Our Insurance was provided through NC State. As well, program supplies
include application printing, postage, letterhead, flyers, and brochures. For the
week of camp, supplies also include schedule printing; t-shirts, certificates, egg
drop and ropes course materials. In an effort to reduce cost, T-Shirts were screenprinted by hand in the College of Design.
Housing, food, and the supplies mentioned are the items that make up the
overwhelming majority of the program’s accounting costs. NC State faculty
members volunteered their time and many materials to provide free workshops for
the SATELLITE program. Additionally, the staff of SATELLITE is completely
voluntary and as a team throughout the year and week of the program contributed
over 2,500 hours. All of these donated hours by faculty presenters and volunteer
staff are what have allowed the program to financially continue. However, as
SATELLITE continues to grow, continued and greater support is needed.
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Volunteer Staff
SATELLITE was only possible due to the hard work, passion, and time
investment of the 24 student leaders who were committed to its success. The
program’s executive team, consisting of two Program Co-Directors, a Food Director,
and a Scheduling Director, works all year to secure funding, plan the program,
recruit and train volunteer staff, and recruit and select students from across the
state of North Carolina.
The leadership and counselors of the program demonstrated tremendous
leadership and service capacity and capabilities throughout the course of the
program. Additionally, our student leaders represent a diverse and strong set of
disciplinary backgrounds, which may be viewed on the next page
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Volunteer Staff
Name
Josiah Keilson
Jacob Lineberry
Kevin Kauffman
Katie Boyd
Siddhartha Jandhyala
Akshatha Kiran
Reginal Lerebours
Travis Tippens
Meredith Martin
Sam Loomis
Molly Hass
Anne Montgomery
Andi Gibbs
Jake Lasky
Erica Bannerman
Hannah Frank
Khushbu Gosia
Cameron Bright
Shrikar Nunna
Dania Farawi
Saahj Gosrani
Kaitlin Perkins
Kevin Smartt
Role
Co-Director
Co-Director
Scheduling Director
Ast. Scheduling Coordinator
Food Director
Ast. Food Coordinator
Counselor
Counselor
Counselor
Counselor
Counselor
Counselor
Counselor
Counselor
Counselor
Counselor
Counselor
Counselor
Counselor
Counselor
Counselor
Counselor
Couselor
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Major
Economics
Physics and Math
Mechanical Engineering
Animal Science
Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Statistics
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Education
Physics and Math
Food Science
Economics
Secondary Science Education
Biochemistry
Biology and Psychology
Interdisciplinary Studies
Mechanical Engineering
Biomolecular Engineering
Engineering and Political Science
Biochemistry
Engineering
Engineering
Engineering
Support
Due to generous financial support in 2015 SATELLITE was able to maintain the
acceptance of 54 scholars. As SATELLITE continues to grow increased funding is
always needed.
Primary Financial support for the 2015 SATELLITE Program came from:
Glen Raven
IBM
NC State Student Government
The Mandavelli Family
Sonja Jones
Tyler Ellington
The Rhoden Family
NC State Caldwell Fellows Program
General Hugh Shelton Leadership Center
College of Sciences
College of Engineering
College of Natural Resources
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
NCSU Libraries
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