After learning valuable lessons during its inaugural NASA SUITS competition experience in 2025, Midwestern State University's Team Selene returned in 2026 with greater confidence, stronger teamwork, and a second consecutive Pay It Forward Award.

The award recognized Team Selene's commitment to sharing STEM education with others through outreach activities designed to inspire students and engage community members.

For Computer Science major Victoria Heredia, the co-team lead, being on the NASA SUITS Team Selene at MSU Texas had many benefits.

“I feel like it’s a great opportunity to actually apply the stuff you learn in class,” said Heredia, who worked at United Regional over the summer. “With this project, I actually started to do things and actually code, learning how everything works. Learning how to build from scratch and everything.”

Everything didn’t go perfectly at the competition – the first day was tough, the team members said – but they acknowledged that in their presentation and impressed the committee with how they problem-solved and moved forward to address challenges.

“Whenever we had any problems with the code, or anything went wrong, we'd meet and have a debrief of everything that happened that day, and then we’d start working together to solve those problems,” Heredia said. “So I think, compared to last year, that the group dynamic was better.”

In addition to the competition, the team really enjoyed the chance to see NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The entire week was a first-time experience for some of the team, including Sana Syed Mahmood Hussain, who earned her MBA in Business Analytics in Spring 2026.

“I saw that the team was very solution-oriented,” Hussain said. “I would definitely point out that the team would not be like, ‘Let’s blame this thing or this person.’ They were like, ‘Let's fix it.’ And they were fast coming up with solutions.”

Team Selene members were excited to see what other teams around the country had produced as well. They noted that many of Team Selene's ideas were very similar to Purdue's.

 “I think sometimes we can think we’re not as advanced as other universities, but then you go there, and it’s like, you know, we had the same ideas and multiple teams thought this was what we needed in a Spacesuit User Interface,” Hussain said. “I think NASA would definitely look into it and see why everyone thought it was important.”

Heredia agreed with the feeling that MSU Texas belonged with the best in the nation.

“It’s a positive learning experience, and you get to work in a group with this project,” Heredia said. “And this time I was leading the group, which taught me lessons on how to manage people.”

She said participation in NASA SUITS can benefit not only students with technical experience, but also those with people skills and networking.

Faculty advisor Tina Johnson said the students demonstrated knowledge, dedication, and teamwork.

“They devoted many hours over the fall and spring to apply for the challenge, develop and test the project, and present the project to NASA personnel,” Johnson said. “Their professionalism and commitment reflected exceptionally well on our department, college, and university. We are incredibly proud of their accomplishments and look forward to supporting another team as we apply for the challenge again this fall.”

Team Selene connected with the Wichita Falls community in many ways, including visiting an elementary school. They also embraced an opportunity to present virtually to a high school classroom in Heredia’s native country of Ecuador.

“I had a chance to speak to several people from the student engagement department of NASA, and they told me they were looking for a group that inspires the next generation to come and innovate,” Hussain said. “I think our team did really follow that statement. We even got asked by another team how we came up with the idea of global outreach. They were curious how we curated each program to be suitable for each setting.”

When Heredia thought about including her high school, Montebello Academy, in a Google Meet for a classroom of 11th graders, the team was all in. Heredia wasn’t nervous, she said, because she connects with the school and faculty every time she goes home.

It was a different engagement than with preschoolers or elementary students, but Team Selene split the class hour between a presentation and a quiz on NASA topics.

“The students were really engaged, and even said at the end, I don’t want to go,” Heredia said. “And we held the event in English. I think they’re willing to do it again next year. It was different (than school) because you’re like the teacher in that case. At the end, I did a little motivational message.”

“They praised her, and the best part was the collaboration,” Hussain added.

Giving back to the community and inspiring younger students the same way they were inspired was important to Heredia and Team Selene, maybe even more than being recognized for that contribution.