HESS Program gives students an “out of this world” experience at the Challenger Learning Center

OHIO COUNTY, W.Va. (WTRF) – Twelve students from Wheeling Middle School got an “out of this world” lesson, all thanks to Wheeling University’s HESS Program.

HESS stands for “Help Enrich Someone Special.”

For 10 weeks, middle school students will work alongside their student mentors from Wheeling University on a variety of STEAM projects, getting hands on experience and seeing what kind of jobs are out there for them in the future.

Wednesday night’s lesson gave students the chance to fly a mission in the freshly renovated Challenger Learning Center at Wheeling University.

“It’s so cool to see the students come in because they compete for a spot here so it’s very competitive. And these students are the ones that made it and so they’re excited to come in and one, learn, and then two to just see the campus atmosphere.”

Keala McCurry, Student Mentor for the HESS Program

“This year we’ve incorporated a lot more Challenger Center activities, a lot more STEM projects and a lot of hands-on learning that our kids get to experience.”

Reilly Gipson, Student Mentor for the HESS Program

“I was so glad that I was able to actually able to go into it, and this was the first thing I was told about, and I could not wait to do it because I’ve always loved space.”

Connor, 7th grade student at Wheeling Elementary School

The HESS Program is funded through a grant from the HESS Family Foundation of Wheeling.

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