Team Mentors

I’m Mike Swanson, the Team’s Mentor.  I’m also an Aerospace Engineer and have been interested in airplanes and rockets ever since I was a young boy.  In fact, I have been launching model rockets and flying model airplanes since 1979 !  Over the last 8 years, I have become more interested in high power rocketry and achieved my NAR Level 2 High Power Rocketry certification in 2018.   I really enjoy mentoring high school and college students in STEM related activities like The American Rocketry Challenge and NASA Student Launch Initiative to help grow the next generation of rocket scientists and engineers !

Hi!  My name is Cecilia Celis.  I am the team educator for the group.  I have had the privilege of working with this wonderful group of students for almost two years, and I have learned a lot from them.  My job is to assist the team in whatever they need, as well as being a point of contact between the team and NASA.  

I have been an elementary school teacher for 29 years.  I graduated from California State University, Los Angeles where I majored in Child Development.  I hold a multiple-subject teaching credential with Spanish bilingual and bicultural emphasis.  In 2019 I pursued and earned my National Board Certification.  I have always enjoyed working with hands-on projects, so when this opportunity came up, I accepted immediately.

On my free time I like to spend time with my family, cook Italian and Argentinian food, bake cookies, and travel.