Meet a DreamUp to Space Team Member: Grace Stumpf, Team Adzuki

DreamUp to Space is a project that challenges young people to understand and explore the impact that microgravity has on matter. Through a partnership with DreamUp, iLEAD learners in grades 5-12 are inspired to develop the skills and knowledge to design, develop, and propose an experiment that could be run on the International Space Station.

In July of 2020, two teams from iLEAD Schools were selected for flight in the 2020 DreamUp to Space Virtual Mission & Experiment Design Challenge. Currently, learners from across the network were selected and are now collaborating on these two “Launch Teams” — Team Carrot and Team Adzuki — in preparation for a spring launch of their experiments to the International Space Station.

Each learner has unique interests, strengths, and goals to bring to each team. We’d like to introduce you to our team members! Today we’re introducing Grace Stumpf!

Meet Grace Stumpf, Team Adzuki

Grace Stumpf is a 13-year-old 7th grader at iLEAD Exploration. She enjoys reading, science, and the great outdoors. As a member of the iLEAD DreamUp to Space Launch Team Team Adzuki, she will participate in experimentation optimization in preparation for the upcoming spring 2021 launch.

In the future, Grace would like to be an author of literature for children and middle schoolers. Her favorite book is I Am Malala. Other favorites are The Hunger Games, Keeper of the Lost Cities, and Percy Jackson series.

Grace is also a high-level figure skater. Her other hobbies include flying, painting, and researching Greek mythology.

An interesting fact: Grace was born prematurely at 28 weeks, weighing only two pounds and 12 ounces. She spent 69 days in the NICU. The doctors gave her a 50 percent chance of survival.

We had the chance to ask Grace a few questions!

Q&A with Grace

What is the most exciting thing about this opportunity?

“It’s wonderful to know that I may inspire some other little girl or boy out there to reach for the stars, and that to me is out of this world!”

What is your favorite animal and why?

“My favorite animal is most definitely a wombat because they are just so cute and intelligent. (I also find it very funny that they poop cubes.)”

Who do you look up to?

“I look up to all my teachers. My wonderful English teachers, Mrs. Nancy Kaser and Mrs.Chris MacLeith. My extraordinary history teacher, Mrs. Janiene Bishop. My miracle-worker math teacher, Mrs. Kathleen Crady. My exceptional educational facilitator Mrs. Julie Sato. And last but not least, my awesome science teacher, Mrs. Jill. I would like to thank each one of them for inspiring my love of learning. (And let’s not forget my amazing parents, who independent study me and let me pursue my passions and read to my heart’s content.)

We look forward to introducing more team members to you soon!