Passion

FLVS Student & EngineerGirl Ambassador

By Florida Virtual School on June 30th, 2021

As we grow, we find ourselves fascinated with topics and hobbies that inspire us. When these fascinations turn into passions, we may ask ourselves, “Is this something I can do for the rest of my life as a career?” Sometimes we don’t truly realize that the sky is the limit! But with inspiration, support, and hard work, we can make our childhood dreams a reality.

Passion is Developed, Not Discovered

By Guest Blogger on October 18th, 2018

Author Angela Duckworth shares that passion isn’t discovered, it’s really developed.

What’s the difference?

If passion is just sitting in the wings waiting to be discovered, we don’t have much control over it. It’s there, we just have to find it somehow. But what if real passion, the kind that lasts, the kind that you build a life’s work on – what if that kind of passion isn’t discovered, it’s developed? Continue reading

Kick the New Year’s Resolution for Something Better

By Guest Blogger on January 4th, 2017

This is the seventh post in a series by former FLVS student Makaila, a model, author, and student advocate.

Ah…the New Year. It seems to be that every New Year, we set our expectations so high we surely cannot keep them.

Well, not this year!

Instead, set the bar high for yourself in 2017– but keep it attainable. Better yet, instead of having some New Year’s resolution that we both know won’t last, focus on something that matters – your dreams.

Ask yourself, what is it that you want to accomplish this year? Do you want to chase your dreams and be the best you can in school? Maybe your vision is elsewhere, America’s Next Top Model…or perhaps an X-Games stunt driver?

No matter what your dream is, focus your efforts on how to get there.

When I was younger, New Year’s became my “crunch time.” Continue reading

FLVS Attends GOES-R Satellite Launch

By Florida Virtual School on December 7th, 2016

On Saturday, November 19, I had the privilege of watching the GOES-R weather satellite launch from Kennedy Space Center.

Now you may be wondering what GOES-R stands for. It’s the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, a satellite system that orbits the earth and sends data back to National Weather Service computers. The R indicates what number or version the GOES satellite is on, so there have already been versions A-R. GOES-S is slated to launch next year and is the twin to GOES-R.

Of course, weather satellites get launched all the time, so why would this one be any more special than the others?

Well, right now we receive images of satellite scans every 30 minutes or so. The GOES-R satellite will provide data at least every five minutes, and in some circumstances every 30 seconds! So not only will it be five times faster than current weather satellites, but it will also gather three times more data and it will have four times better resolution. Continue reading

To Bennu and Back!

By Florida Virtual School on September 29th, 2016

Hello FLVS peeps!

I had the distinct honor of representing FLVS at the OSIRIS REx rocket launch a few weeks ago.

Now if you’re wondering what exactly that means, OSIRIS REx stands for NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer. That’s a mouthful, right?

In a nutshell, NASA is sending a spacecraft to an asteroid named Bennu. Once it reaches Bennu (after a trip lasting two years), the spacecraft will orbit the asteroid for about a year, find the perfect place to collect about 80 grams of the rock, and head back home, arriving back to Earth in 2023.

It won’t actually land on the asteroid, but instead hover over it – and with the help of Canada and their amazing knowledge of spacecraft arms – will grab a small sample. (To put this in perspective, 80 grams is about the equivalent of 80 Skittle candies.)

So why are we going to Bennu? Continue reading