Local students team up with NASA astronauts

By Evan Dawson,

Published May 19, 2026 at 6:42 PM EDT

Four people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a young woman front left has long blonde hair and is wearing a bright blue polo shirt and black pants; a man front right has very short dark hair and is wearing glasses, a dark grey button-down shirt and blue jeans; a young man back left has short light brown hair and is wearing a bright blue polo shirt: a woman back right has shoulder length brown hair and is wearing a bright blue polo shirt.

1 of 9 — (foreground) Sloane Keller, (background) Luke Schulte and Donna Himmelberg with host Evan Dawson on "Connections"

(foreground) Sloane Keller, (background) Luke Schulte and Donna Himmelberg with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Marty Wash / WXXI News

A woman with short grey hair stands in front of two flags wearing a bright blue polo shirt and eyeglasses.

2 of 9 — Flo Gold's photo at NASA (1).png

Florence Gold

Provided

3 of 9 — Gene Gordon headshot.png

Gene Gordon

Provided

A round black container has silver and red fasteners around the middle and a large bolt on the top.

4 of 9 — Prototype created by Fairport High School students

Prototype created by NASA HUNCH members at Fairport High School

Sloane Keller / Provided

A large room is filled with many machines and has a large American flag hanging on the wall.

5 of 9 — Astronaut training center.jpg

A NASA astronaut training center in Houston

Sloane Keller / Provided

Three students wearing bright blue polo shirts stand with a woman wearing a bright blue jumpsuit.

6 of 9 — Our group with astro Erin Overcash.jpeg

Leah Morris, Luke Schulte and Sloane Keller with astronaut Erin Overcash

Sloane Keller / Provided

Three young people stand in front of a large plane.

7 of 9 — Fairport HS students at NASA

Luke Schulte, Sloane Keller and Leah Morris at NASA in Houston.

Donna Himmelberg / Provided

Two young people stand in front of a poster showing several astronauts.

8 of 9 — NASA

Luke Schulte and Leah Morris at NASA in Houston

Donna Himmelberg / Provided

Four people wearing bright blue polo shirts stand in front of a posterboard presentation.

9 of 9 — Fairport NASA HUNCH

Leah Morris, Sloane Keller, Luke Schulte and Donna Himmelberg at NASA in Houston

Donna Himmelberg / WXXI News

We're joined by two local high school students who recently returned from Houston, where they met with NASA astronauts.

Sloane Keller and Luke Schulte are students at Fairport High School who participated in the NASA HUNCH program. The initiative pairs NASA mentors with students who research solutions to real-world problems faced by NASA.

This hour, we talk with the students and their mentors about their work on a lunar sample container, their trip to Texas, meeting the Artemis II crew, and more.

Our guests:

Sloane Keller, sophomore at Fairport High School and participant in the NASA HUNCH program
Luke Schulte, junior at Fairport High School and participant in the NASA HUNCH program
Donna Himmelberg, chemistry teacher and NASA advisor at Fairport High School
Florence Gold, project manager for NASA HUNCH Academy
Gene Gordon, former NASA HUNCH mentor and retired Fairport Central School District Teacher