Jack with Tabitha and Mitch, his Simulations Internship Instructors and Connor, his Training Mentor
Jack H. Becomes the First Space Center Volunteer to Graduate from the Simulations Internship Program, Level 1: Supervisors
by Tabitha Long Ricks
We are super excited to announce that Jack has officially earned all his passes and is the next volunteer to enter the staff force as a full fledged Magellan Supervisor!!
He has worked hard and it shows! There isn't a supervisor or flight director out there who wouldn't want to fly with him - including Alex. He'd love Jack as a Galileo supervisor.
Jack started volunteering at the beginning of 2023 after attending a mission and the rest is history. Jack can rally and integrate with all shapes and sizes of crews. He can explain just about anything to anyone. And Jack provides reliable, constant support in any team he's working on. I'm pretty sure he gets a sore elbow from repeatedly reaching for the phone in his sleep, ready to respond as Water Pumping.Be sure to let Jack know how good Supervisor Blue looks on him the next time you see him in his collard shirt, making the Space Center a better place!Well done and congratulations Jack!
Congratulations Jack. This is Really a Big Deal. One of those Space Center Milemarkers from Which We Measure Success
At the beginning of the last year, Mr. Porter gave Tabitha Ricks and Mitch Foot the assignment of creating a formal way to train all future Space Center staff: Supervisors and Flight Directors. This type of formal, research based training complete, with full curriculum has never been done at the Space Center.
After months of research and preparation, the first set of interns were admitted into the Simulations Internship Program in the Fall of 2024. They attended "Bootcamp" Monday afternoons after school for formal classroom training with Tabitha and Mitch. Their field work and applications work was done in the simulators under mentor flight directors. Several Space Center volunteers are currently working through their assignments and field work. What makes Jack's accomplishment noteworthy is that he is the first to graduate from the Internship and accept a staff position at the Space Center. Needless to say, the first of many more to come.
Connor Larsen was Jack's mentor. They worked many many hours together in the Magellan, over several months, getting Jack ready for his final reviews for graduation.
An intern and mentor develop a strong bond. Connor set the gold standard for mentorship providing instruction and and example of how to properly guide an intern from classroom to the practical day to day operations in the simulator. And now with Jack graduated, Connor will move on to work with a new intern and start the process all over again.
I know how proud Tabitha and Mitch are over Jack's accomplishment. It hasn't been easy. The Simulations Internship Program is tough and requires hard work, many hours, and a commitment to the Space Center's demand for excellence in all our programs.
I had a chance to congratulate Jack myself on Saturday. I found him alone, in the Magellan Control Room, working on building his own music tracks, among other things, as he continues is formal training with the Simulation Internship Program working towards his Level II endorsement as a Flight Director. It is amazing how far he's gone since he first stated as a Voyager Club member in 2023. I actually remember the day he came in for his first observation. During my orientation, I remember how excited Jack was to be there and how motivated he was to get going.
Over the last few years, Jack has been a great help to me as both a co-president of the Space Center's Voyager Club and the club's Blender instructor. He currently leads the Alpha Animation Team made up of Jack (Instructor), Bruce, Bryce, and Jaxon. He's working to prepare them to become Stageworks Journeyman.
Finally, what can I say about James Porter, Tabitha and Mitch except that the Space Center couldn't have better leadership? Because of their work and vision, the Simulations Internship Program will play a major role in giving the Space Center's guests the best experience possible.
And when all is said and done, we come back to the Space Center's ultimate mission of creating a spacefaring civilization. Hundreds of thousands of people have experienced the Space Center over its nearly 35 years. How many of them were inspired to dream big and consider what the great astonomer Carl Sagan said, "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known". Who knows, perhaps that person who will make one of those discoveries will be attending the Space Center this week, or next, or the one after that........and will credit that spark of wonder to this magical place in Pleasant Grove, Utah
Mr. Williamson
A New Doctor ID Badge
Chris A., is one of the outstanding Voyager Volunteers at the Space Center. He had a great idea a few weeks ago. He was putting on a doctor's coat, saw me working in the Staff Room, and walked over to propose an idea for those volunteers playing the ship's doctors in the simulators. "Mr. Williamson, would it be possible for us to have our own Doctor's ID badges for when we play a ship's Doctor?"
Well Chris, your idea has become a reality.
This is the generic first version of the badge. There may be modifications. The volunteers can earn a personalized badge with their doctor's character name once they complete the Voyager Club Acting Department's Doctor Training workshops (there are 2 of them). Tyler Weight will be the instructor. The first of two classes will be held July 26 during the montly Voyager Club meeting.
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