SAN ANTONIO – Port San Antonio generates over $5 billion in annual economic activity in our region, and there are thousands of jobs on campus from dozens of different companies. The campus also focuses on more than just the present.
Port SA is looking forward, and in many cases that’s the youth and talent of tomorrow. From Tesla coils, the first personal computer, to real-time cyber threats across the world, students can find them all at the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology.
“I like a lot, like the decoders, like the hackers. They make sure they don’t go on any other web sites that they shouldn’t be on,” 12-year-old Owen Balagia said. He visited SAMSAT with his Brentwood Middle School class, a school in the Edgewood Independent School District.
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Owen said he already has an idea of what he wants to do when he grows up.
“I want to go to the NFL, or I want to be a computer scientist,” he said.
Owen and his classmates are just a few of the 20,000 students who have come through the museum’s doors.
“It’s a vehicle for children and young adults to take a look at science and technology, become inspired, and perhaps decide to have a career in those fields,” David Monroe, founder and chair of the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology, said.
“The goal is really inspiration. They’ll have a chance here to see things they’ve never seen before. They’ll have a chance to hear about the history of science and technology from the past up to the present and inspire them to look toward the future,” Monroe said.
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And getting them interested now, could have important implications for the future of San Antonio.
“What we lack today is the cyber-talent pool for my particular industry. And so, this brings together the greatest minds of all industry partners, as well as the Department of Defense, the Air Force, and intel community to make sure that we are working together to develop our future,” Jeff Medina, director of business development and cyber strategy, said.
And maybe students visiting like Owen will be part of that future talent pool.
“It’s pretty important, because I can learn about, like, how this can help me to like pursue my dreams,” Owen said.