Midwestern State University

You never know who you will run into at NASA. 🚀

During the spring semester, MSU Texas junior Rykir Evans interned with NASA, where he gained valuable experience, met astronaut Reid Wiseman and Chief Flight Director Gene Kranz, and found confirmation that a career in aerospace is exactly where he belongs. Rykir, a Bowie native, is turning his passion for space into a future career.

For Cristin Martin, earning her master's degree from MSU Texas also meant honoring her father's legacy.

After losing her father in 2025 while caring for him in hospice, Martin stepped away from classes to focus on family and navigate grief. During that time, she found new purpose serving as a Veterans Affairs Specialist at MSU Texas, a role that allowed her to stay connected to the military community that shaped her family.

With support from family, faculty, and friends, Martin returned to finish what she started and earned her master's degree this spring. She hopes that by sharing her father’s story and her own experience with grief, she can encourage others who are enduring hardships to take care of themselves, lean on their support systems, and return to finish what they started.