New Leadership Program Making Big Steps: National Osterbrock Fellows at Columbia Astronomy Organize Visit of 750 South African Students for an Astronomy Talk Series

October 05, 2022

The National Osterbrock Fellows in the Columbia Department of Astronomy — Ryan Golant, Alina Sabyr, Maryum Sayeed, Navin Sridhar, and Courtney Carter — recently organized a visit of ~750 South African high school students for an astronomy talk series. These students were part of an academic achievement program visiting similar institutions across the country. The approximately hour-long talks took place at Faculty House in the morning (featuring graduate student Aaron Tran as our speaker) and at Miller Theatre in the evening (featuring speakers Dr. Amanda Quirk and Dr. Moiya McTier), with topics ranging from space weather to the Milky Way. Thanks to these amazing speakers, the talk series was a hit, and the Academic Achievers hope to return for more talks next year.