Thursday is NASA Day at Mississippi Valley State University.
Valley alumnus Darryl C. Gaines, assistant to the center director at Johnson Space Center in Houston, will speak to students about his career experiences with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, according to a university press release.
Gaines will also address faculty and staff on research opportunities at NASA. All of Thursday’s sessions will be held at the MVSU Business Education Building.
Gaines will meet and greet faculty and students at 8 a.m. and will address students at 9:30. Interested participants will be able to view NASA headquarters using Google Goggles technology at 11 a.m.
There will be a faculty and staff research opportunity session from 2 to 3 p.m. and a second student informational session starting at 3:30.
A Mobile native who came to Valley on a full football scholarship in the 1980s, Gaines was inducted into the university’s Hall of Fame in 2017 and is currently president of the MVSU Houston alumni chapter.
Gaines graduated from Valley in 1988 with a degree in computer science and mathematics.
Prior to joining NASA, where he has worked for 25 years, he was employed by McDonnell Douglas Aircraft and played pro football for the Kansas City Chiefs.
In Houston, he volunteers as a mentor and motivational speaker in schools.
His responsibilities at NASA have included policy development, staff relations, strategic planning and management integration of technical, mission support and communications activities for the organization of around 3,000 civil servants and 8,500 contractors.
MVSU’s Career Services Center is hosting the daylong event.
“Our goal is to expose students to the myriad of opportunities that are available with NASA,” said Essie Bryant, center director, in a prepared statement.
“It’s also a chance for Mr. Gaines to share his career experiences with NASA and how MVSU helped to prepare him.”
For more information, contact the Valley communications office at 254-3577.
•Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@
gwcommonwealth.com.
