{"id":149597,"date":"2025-11-03T09:14:59","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T14:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=149597"},"modified":"2025-11-05T14:49:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T19:49:24","slug":"ucf-first-generation-student-is-finding-her-place-in-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-first-generation-student-is-finding-her-place-in-space\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF First-Generation Student Is Finding Her Place in Space"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Born from the challenge of the Space Race, UCF was created to transform imagination into innovation and prepare people to launch humanity beyond its limits. Today, we are still are a place where our people\u2019s curiosity drives discovery, bold questions shape the future and exploration advances life on Earth.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Founded to reach the moon, we\u2019re already on our way to the next frontier. Built for liftoff, America\u2019s Space University celebrates UCF Space Week Nov. 3-7.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\t\t<section class=\"ucf-section ucf-section-space-week \" style>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"bg-inverse text-inverse\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row no-gutters\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\" col-md-5 col-lg-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"media-background-container h-100\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/telescope-575x296-1.jpg\" alt=\"Two UCF researchers working on a telescope \" class=\"w-100\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"Two UCF researchers working on a telescope \" class=\"w-100 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/telescope-575x296-1.jpg\"><br>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\" col-md-7 col-lg-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"w-75 mx-auto pt-3\">\n<noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF-SpaceWeek-2025-WCB-WEB-72dpi.png\" alt=\"UCF Space Week | Nov 3-7, 2025\" class=\"w-100\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"UCF Space Week | Nov 3-7, 2025\" class=\"w-100 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF-SpaceWeek-2025-WCB-WEB-72dpi.png\">\n<p class=\"text-center pt-4 line-height-1 font-size-sm\">Where Global Leaders Unite to Boldly Forge the Future of Space\n<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\n<hr>\n<p>Kaaliyah McGaughy still remembers the excitement that filled the room as she looked in awe at historic spacecrafts adorning the ceiling of an exhibit in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.<\/p>\n<p>Most of her fifth-grade classmates saw a cool museum. McGaughy saw her future.<\/p>\n<p>Ten years, one inspiring high school physics class and countless hours spent researching the path of an aerospace engineer later, McGaughy is contributing to space exploration as a third-year physics student at America\u2019s Space University, just 35 miles west of where her dreams first took flight.<\/p>\n<p>Today, as the university celebrates UCF Space Week and First-Generation Student Awareness Week, her story serves as a strong example of the determination and daring spirit of Knights to boldly forge the way forward.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few things to know about the aspiring physicist:<\/p>\n<h2>She Chose UCF Because of Its Strength in Engineering and Technology<\/h2>\n<p>SpaceU\u2019s renowned engineering programs sealed the deal for McGaughy, who set her sights on studying aerospace engineering when she came to UCF in 2021. For three years, she poured herself into the major \u2014 designing, testing and tinkering her way through classes that brought her closer to the world of aerospace that first sparked her imagination as a kid.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When I came to UCF during a campus visit in high school and I saw the engineering department \u2014 all of the works and creations they had in there \u2014 that really sold me,\u201d McGaughy says. \u201cI thought, \u2018They&#8217;re doing amazing work here. They&#8217;re doing everything to make sure that space research, or any research and engineering, is continuously being done.\u2019 I loved that.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Her Journey of Discovery Isn\u2019t Limited to the Stars<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI do a lot of what I do for my family. They sacrificed a lot to get me here today, and without them, I wouldn&#8217;t be here at all.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>As a proud first-generation college student, McGaughy is breaking ground closer to home, too \u2014 carving her own path through higher education and becoming a role model for her younger sister and family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to continuously make them happy and proud of me,\u201d says McGaughy, who has received a first-generation scholarship to support her studies.<\/p>\n<p>Ask her what she defines a first-generation student as, and she doesn\u2019t hesitate: trailblazer. And she\u2019s in the good company of thousands of them. At UCF, McGaughy\u2019s surrounded by a vibrant community of ambitious leaders, bold thinkers and brilliant pioneers at a university that dares to invent the future.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_149599\" style=\"max-width: 1200px;\" class=\"figure mx-auto d-block\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" class=\"figure-img size-full wp-image-149599 img-fluid\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-2.jpg\" alt=\"Kaaliyah McGaughy standing in front of the UCF Exolith Lab's Lunar Highland Regolith Test Bin\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-2.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-2-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-2-360x240.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" class=\"figure-img size-full wp-image-149599 img-fluid lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201200%20800%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Kaaliyah McGaughy standing in front of the UCF Exolith Lab's Lunar Highland Regolith Test Bin\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201200%20800%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-2.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-2-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-2-360x240.jpg 360w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-2.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Kaaliyah McGaughy standing in front of the UCF Exolith Lab&#8217;s Lunar Highland Regolith Test Bin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>She Helped Build the UCF Exolith Lab\u2019s Regolith Bin<\/h2>\n<p>In Summer 2022, during her sophomore year, McGaughy landed a 12-week internship at UCF\u2019s Exolith Lab \u2014 a premier facility for space hardware testing with simulated moon, Martian and asteroid dirt, known as regolith, used in spaceflight research and development.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWe built a lot of things by hand. It was a very student-friendly environment, and a really good foundation for space-related studies.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>One of those hand-built projects was the world\u2019s largest simulated lunar surface, housed within the lab\u2019s Lunar Highland Regolith Test Bin (the regolith bin). Impressive in size \u2014 measuring 33 feet by 33 feet and filled with 240,000 pounds of simulant soil \u2014 it\u2019s even bigger in potential, providing scientists at NASA and other space companies a realistic testbed for experiments and technologies like lunar rovers.<\/p>\n<p>McGaughy\u2019s fingerprints are literally part of the bin\u2019s foundation. She contributed to the sketches and helped build the base by hand as one of only a handful of students involved in bringing the impressive project to life. The experience and her studies led her to a part-time senior lab engineer role, which provided her an opportunity to design and build an automated lift system for robots to enter the regolith bin for qualifying round of 2025 NASA Lunabotics Challenge.<\/p>\n<h2>She Recently Took a Leap and Changed Her Major to Align with Her Research Goals<\/h2>\n<p>As McGaughy grew as an engineering student, she found herself drawn to another path. Space wasn\u2019t just a mystery to be admired \u2014 it was a place she wanted to understand.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI wanted to do more of the research, learn about space and do more experimental things with that instead of more hands-on things with engineering.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>With support from faculty members like Pegasus Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences Daniel Britt, who founded the Exolith Lab, she switched her major from aerospace engineering to physics on the astronomy track.<\/p>\n<p>Looking back, the future physicist knows the switch was the right call as she is now a research intern at the Exolith Lab.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m glad I made the decision,\u201d McGaughy says. \u201cI still have engineering under my belt. I love it. I&#8217;d still do it in a heartbeat. But physics was just another avenue I wanted to explore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-149598 img-fluid\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy.jpg\" alt=\"Kaaliyah McGaughy standing in front of a SpaceU sign\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-360x240.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-149598 img-fluid lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201200%20800%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Kaaliyah McGaughy standing in front of a SpaceU sign\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201200%20800%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy-360x240.jpg 360w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2025\/10\/UCF_Kaaliyah-McGaughy.jpg\"><\/p>\n<h2>She Is Proud to Be Part of the SpaceU Community<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">If McGaughy\u2019s journey shows anything, it\u2019s that curiosity and determination can take you far \u2014 and at UCF, that same drive is everywhere. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"font-size: 1rem\">UCF Space Week, Nov. 3-7<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">, puts that energy on full display, celebrating all the ways Knight Nation boldly pushes space forward \u2014 from advancing space research to supporting Florida\u2019s expanding space economy to preparing the next generation of talent.<\/span><strong><br>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo have something so significant dedicated to what you&#8217;re extremely interested in and passionate about \u2014 having that represented feels amazing,\u201d she says. \u201cIt makes you feel connected. It makes you feel like you have a community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Charting her own course through aerospace engineering and physics, first-generation student Kaaliyah McGaughy is proving that curiosity and determination can launch anyone toward their dreams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":149600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[5,23,24,27],"tags":[973,982,1146,54160,14916,18102],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-149597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colleges","category-research","category-science-technology","category-student-life","tag-college-of-engineering-and-computer-science","tag-college-of-sciences","tag-dan-britt","tag-exolith-lab","tag-research","tag-student-success"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UCF First-Generation Student Is Finding Her Place in Space | 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