Cosmosphere worker moves on to dream job at NASA

HUTCHINSON — Over the years there have been plenty of last days at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center for Teresa Sindelar.

Twenty summers ago as a camper in the Future Astronaut Training Program, Sindelar said "so long" after a fun adventure.

Then, over the years, as a counselor and even camp director, there were plenty of farewells.

Wednesday it was goodbye again as Sindelar headed off to pursue her lifelong dream of working for NASA.

She'll begin work at Houston's Johnson Space Center as a NASA education specialist in the Teaching from Space office on Aug. 9. In this new position she'll work closely with astronauts, taking what they do in orbit and turning it into classroom curriculum.

One day she'll be talking to astronauts, the next talking to Congress about the importance of space program on students of tomorrow. The next day she'll be telling students how cool it is to fly.

In retrospect, it seems all roads have led Sindelar to this moment, despite the fact that she had applied and been turned down for various positions at NASA at least five times over the years. That was a lesson she was teaching on her last day at camp Wednesday, telling campers she's living proof that dreams come true.

"Everything I've ever done has led to securing this job," Sindelar said. "But, it hasn't been a walk in the park."

Perhaps it was in the stars for the young girl who begged her mother to send her to space camp, to just wander into an Omaha store. That's where she met Apollo astronaut Tom Stafford, who was signing autographs. And her mother learned from Stafford of a great summer camp in Kansas.

Then, if it hadn't been for Helen Unruh, a former camp director, reassuring Teresa's mother that she'd be just fine at the camp, there might not have been the camp experience.

"Helen has been a mentor, as has everyone here," Sindelar said. They are encouraging, always telling her she'd get to NASA, she just had to find the way.

While her desire to work for NASA was strong, she struggled in math and foreign languages, skills NASA looks for in its employees. But she loved science, and also came to realize her gift was teaching.

Sindelar has been a science teacher for the past five years in the Buhler school system while working on her master's degree, but returned every summer to help with camps. She believes getting the advanced degree helped her land this position.

While thrilled with the opportunity, she is concerned about uprooting her family. Sindelar's husband, Dan, a mechanical engineer, will look for work in Houston. The couple has two children, Mason, 3, and Layla, 1.

Before they were married in October 2002, she told Dan of her dream to work for NASA in Houston.

"He said he'd follow me to the moon," Sindelar said.

The news of Sindelar heading to Houston is exciting to Unruh.

"She has taken advantage of every opportunity and took every advantage to learn," Unruh said.

This story was originally published July 17, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Cosmosphere worker moves on to dream job at NASA."