Eagles Host STEM-Based Art Competition for Local Teens

A team of Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University students is hosting the Drive to Fly aerospace art competition, in partnership with the Museum of Arts and Science in Daytona Beach, for local high school students.

Embry-Riddle alumnus Vikas Patel, who was recently named to the Aviation Week Network 20 Twenties Class of 2025, started the competition last year with help from another Embry-Riddle engineering student, Riley Cox-Gross, and a local philanthropist, Preston Root, who is funding the awards. This year’s team also includes Embry-Riddle students Ananya Goyal, Cindy Nguyen and Camdyn Doucette.

"As an art lover myself, for me, every stroke tells a story of dreaming, soaring and connecting with the universe beyond,” said Goyal, an aerospace engineering student. “Art gives a platform to portray feelings words could never."

The Drive To Fly competition runs from Jan. 3 through March 17, 2025, and is open to Volusia and Flagler County public school juniors and seniors. Students will compete for cash prizes supporting their higher education with $3,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place. The work of between 10-15 finalists will be showcased in the museum.

The competition focuses on the collective passion and creative synergy that leads to transformative progress. Students are encouraged to tie in personal or historical experiences related to the 2024-2025 Drive to Fly theme: Together in Flight. Submissions will be judged based on creativity, technical ability, adherence to the theme and a statement corresponding to the art piece.

Patel, a 2023 Astronaut Scholar who earned his bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering in December, said in STEM fields, an emphasis is often placed on one’s ability to understand very challenging technical concepts. However, he said, when looking at the most successful engineers, pilots and astronauts, two prevalent traits – passion and creativity — distinguish them from the rest.

The 2024 winners, which included students Aspen Redden, Sabrina Dahl and Ava Werner, had the opportunity to meet astronauts, including Embry-Riddle alumna Nicole Stott, who was one of the three judges, at the Astronaut Hall of Fame induction ceremony in May. For more information, email questions@drivetofly.org.