2018 UNITED SPACE SCHOOL STUDENT

MEET JARRETT MURRAY

 

Hello! My name is Jarrett Murray, and I'm a 16 year old grade 11 French Immersion student at William Aberhart High School. I have always been very technical and at a young age I became fascinated by both aviation and space. My mom, who works for WestJet, always made sure I got to go up in the flight deck and talk to the pilots, crystallizing my goal of becoming a pilot. As a result of this dream, I joined the Air Cadets and am now pursuing my private pilot’s license.  I have passed my Transport Canada written test and am preparing for the practical exam later this Spring. I will have the qualifications for my private license by my 17th birthday in July, even though I don’t yet have a license to drive a car.

In cadets my fascination for aerospace found a place to grow. Immediately after joining, I started my first ‘aerospace company’, Murray Aerospace (MAS) where I design, build and launch model rockets and teach others how to do it.  My passion for aerospace has given me the opportunity to apply what I learn in school to real world (and space) applications. This has led to me receiving several academic awards, but most importantly has introduced me to tutoring. I love helping out other people whether it is in school, cadets, or in my community.  I also love being active and have played hockey for several years.

My Grandpa saw the story about the United Space School on the evening news and four days later I had my application in. The following week I had an amazing opportunity to visit the Kennedy Space Center. I saw the first capsules that humans went to space in and this really put everything into perspective for me. I was also at a Falcon 9 launch and it was a life changing experience. It felt like the first time I flew by myself. Unimaginable, yet strangely familiar, like something I was meant to do. After returning from Florida I completed my interview, and a week later found out that I would be representing Western Canada at the United Space School during Science class. How appropriate!

Words can’t describe how excited I am get started on the precourse material and actually attend this course. I can’t wait to meet other students from around the world that share the same passions and interests as I do, learn from them, and share what it means to be Canadian. Thank you so much to the Hangar Flight Museum and FISE for the incredible opportunity. This school is just the beginning for me.