Coffee House pg. 7
Sheppard Review pg.17
Water Polo pg. 23
HUNCH designs table for International Space Station By Jasmine Garza Editor-in-Chief
As a part of the HUNCH program, High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware, a plaque with the names of the Creek students involved will be taken to the International Space Station. This is to honor their involvement for designing and constructing a product to be used by the astronauts. For over 12 months the engineering students from Clear Creek, Cy Woods and Cy Springs have partnered with Johnson Space Center to create The Next Generation Galley Table to be sent to the ISS in December. Beginning the project in the summer of 2014, interns hired by NASA were responsible for making various parts using 3-D printers with aluminum in order to construct the idea. Although many parts were constructed, the summer products were not to the flight table standards. Every piece of material used must be tagged with a 911 tag, in order to keep track of every person who has touched what will eventually go into space. The table itself has taken 12 months to create and about two million dollars. The 12 months of planning out concepts
resulted in a table constructed out of high grade aluminum and stainless steel. . The precision required for this project teaches students to be patient and aware. “We usually milled between plus or minus two or three thousandths to as much as plus or minus five thousandths
to be used as a handle bar, as well as a strap to connect the table to the wall in order to keep it from moving. With a green top and blue handle bar, the galley table will become the most colorful object in the ISS that is said to last the duration of the space station unless something else is needed.
Photo by Elena Rodriguez accuracy. The finish “In the current space has to be perfect,” station that we have now William Gibbs, Engineering teacher, said. the astronauts have to either float above With the design of the table right on it or float below it in order to go from the cutting edge of technology, the table is one part of the space station to the other, able to fold in half with a stainless steel bar with straps getting in the way. This way
they can fold it out of the way, naturally folding under the table,” Gibbs said. Aside from the amazing opportunities, the HUNCH program has taught students what it is like to be in the real world and what it would be like if they chose to work in the engineering field. “It has taught me that it takes hard work, dedication, and extreme precision to be able to work with NASA,” senior Sam Piccolo said. With permission from NASA the students who worked on the Next Generation Galley Table were able to sign the plates that will be placed on the bottom side of the table. “This took a special permission from NASA. Even employees that work for NASA that are engineers or machinists never get to sign a piece of hardware. In this case we were given permission to sign it because it is not going to effect the usage of the table itself,” Gibbs said. After the table was completed, a special award ceremony was organized by NASA in order to recognize all the students in the HUNCH program and their many projects. With several students from Creek, the parents were proud to see their children walk on stage and receive their award.
Best Buddies hosts annual Friendship Walk in Houston By Lisa Nhan Managing Editor
Celebrating its sixth year of tradition, the annual Best Buddies Friendship Walk is a celebration of inclusion for all and the power of friendship. It has taken place in over three countries, over 26 states and over 55,000 participants. Each separate walk location sets a goal to fundraise and this year the goal was $50,000. The Houston Walk surpassed that goal by raising $71,568, the most fundraising to date for Houston. Every year it is held at University of St. Thomas and took place on April 18 this year. “Proceeds from the walk play a fundamental part in funding our state programs which provide one-to-one friendships, leadership development and integrated job opportunities for individuals with IDD. These programs can be found in all 50 states and will create promising opportunities for over 350,000 this year,” Best Buddies Texas said in a statement on their official website. There is no fee for Walk Registration, but each participant is encouraged to fundraise $50 on their own in order to receive a t-shirt. Each Best Buddies Chapter in Houston is required to attend and set up a free booth. Creek’s chapter this year set up a photo booth, but other booths at the event included
karaoke, pie throwing and hula hooping. The walk itself is only a mile long. During the walk, walkers cheer and interact with each other to ensure that all those attending are as involved as possible. “For me, the walk was just so much
pair that spoke together was Creek’s president, Sarah Creveling and her buddy Sara Goins. Creveling and Goins are no longer officially buddies because Goins graduated, but their friendship continues on. Goins is a Best Buddies Ambassador,
Photo by Lisa Nhan
fun to be a part of. Seeing everyone from all around Houston come together to celebrate this message of inclusion was inspiring. It was just really cool to see everyone supporting each other,” Arbera Bedini, historian of Best Buddies Creek Chapter, said. After the walk, there were performances and speeches on the stage, honoring many of the buddies involved. The only buddy
who gives speeches to help empower others with intellectual and developmental disabilities to inspire change. “Being asked to give a speech is always an honor, especially when it is about my friendship with Sara. Sara has had the biggest impact on my life, I don’t know where I would be without her honestly,” Creveling said. “When she started talking at the walk, I did not have anything to say,
because I am so grateful for here. I do not even know how I anything I could say would have gotten her point across any better. She had the whole walk in tears.” Afterwards, numerous awards were given out to recognize efforts to help promote the walk and raise awareness of the cause such as Most School Spirit and Sponsor of the year. Each award was presented by Miss Texas, Ylianna Guerra. The winner of the Money Cup for the top fundraising team was given to the Woodlands Walkers with raising over 10K collectively. The second place team was Kempner High School with $9,385. The top individual fundraiser went to Dylan Ensell who raised $8,550 as a part of Mayde Creek High School, the third place team for fundraising. The Gold Sponsor for the walk was Admiral Transfer and Rigging, Inc. The Ginger Man was the Silver Sponsor. This year was the first year in which walkers and their respective teams were invited to design and create a photo collage with the theme, “What About Friendship?” The collages created were auctioned off as part of silent auction packages. At the end of the day, despite the importance of raising money, the walk showed the value of empowering those around and how much difference one friend in life can make.