PRINCESS ANNE — When few local students sign up for NASA internships — or say they are unaware of any of the work taking place at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility — the line from the movie Apollo 13 comes to mind: “Houston, we have a problem.”

Two NASA Wallops employees, however, are leading the way to change that through a fledgling mentoring group called “SchooLARS 4 STEM.” By partnering mentors with underrepresented and underserved students in grades 5-11 the goal is to direct them into the fields of science, technology, engineering and math and make them aware of the opportunities close to home.

“They had no clue” about the rocket launches at Wallops, said Roland Wescott, who represented NASA at last months Junior Achievement Inspire event in Salisbury. But he was able to reach some of the 3,500 eighth graders, including one whose interest was in biology, something the student thought was outside of NASA’s orbit.

Mr. Wescott directed that student to talk to a colleague about the need for that discipline, and “I saw the light bulb go off.” “The earlier you can grab students, the better,” adding that it’s not just NASA but there are private companies like Northrop-Grumman in Princess Anne which need workers with STEM skills.

While the mentoring group is working on obtaining its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status that hasn’t stopped it from being active, said co-founder Nicole Turner. A golf camp that integrates STEM activities was held last year and will be repeated this summer.

A program called “Hidden Figures” is also planned, the name taken from the movie about three African-American women working behind the scenes but instrumental in the earliest manned space flights.

Nearly a dozen students went to Florida in December to watch the launch at Cape Canaveral of the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) — which has a local connection through the involvement of Crisfield native Joy Whittington-Bretthauer serving as a mission manager.

“Joy started at NASA Wallops,” Ms. Turner said, and she serves as a mentor. SchooLARS 4 STEM worked with It Takes a Village to Help Our Children Inc. in Crisfield on recruiting students for the trip.

Ms. Turner said mentors will guide students on their course curriculum selections, direct them into fields of study and outside opportunities that will lead to success. The goal is a 1:1 ratio of mentors and students, with up to 20 to start. Salisbury University is being enlisted as a partner to provide tutoring and mentoring expertise as well as job shadowing opportunities in STEM-related fields.

She is looking for school board and county support, and spoke recently to the Somerset County Commissioners who encouraged her efforts.

If a student attends the University of Maryland Eastern Shore after graduation, it has a 40-year relationship with NASA Wallops that was reaffirmed last September with a renewal of their MOU.

UMES and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration pledge “to advance the understanding of suborbital and aeronautical science, research and development” and that includes opportunities for student internships.

Student mentoring leads to exposure of the opportunities available plus it builds workforce and economic development for the region in the long term. “It helps NASA,” Ms. Turner said, and also “it builds a STEM pipeline.” She has reached out to the economic development groups in the tri-county area to let them know about the program.

While NASA is their employer, Mr. Wescott said students may become interested in many other fields from aviation to medical. “The whole program is about exposure,” he said.

The summer golf camp/STEM is June 18 through Aug. 6 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in West Ocean City. Transportation or a stipend for transportation in addition to food will be provided. Flyers about this are available in Crisfield at It Takes a Village.

For more information about enrolling a student or becoming a mentor contact Ms. Turner at my2brands@verizon.net or Mr. Wescott at alien01@comcast.net.