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Some debate whether the enormous price tag of space travel is worth the cost. 

For Rose, the answer is easy. 

“There’s no doubt there’s a lot of places where that money would be well spent on Earth,” said Rose, a 2015 De Pere High School graduate. “But you have to look at it as an investment in the future of our species. Learning about the universe is super important to learning more about humanity.

“Exploration is a core value of humanity. Yes, it costs money, but it’s worth it.”

Rose has seen the benefits firsthand. For nearly five years, he worked as a SPARTAN flight controller at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston. SPARTAN stands for Station Power Articulation and Thermal Analysis. 

He was a member of the Mission Control team that manages the International Space System’s power and heating/cooling systems. The ISS has eight massive solar arrays that convert sunlight to electricity that powers everything from the toilets to laptops for experiments. And because space is such an extreme environment, the thermal system must be closely monitored so nothing gets too hot or too cold. 

“The space station is one of the most complex machines humanity has built,” Rose said. 

The ISS is an orbiting laboratory where astronauts conduct experiments that can have direct impact on Earth. For example, studying how microgravity affects the body can be compared to the loss of bone density as people age. Rose said some pharmaceuticals can be developed in space with fewer imperfections. 

Interplanetary travel and deep space missions also are being studied, and Rose believes that living in space is a real possibility. 

“There are a lot of resources in space, and if we can utilize those we can maybe extend our time on Earth,” he said. “We’ve landed (crafts) on Mars, we’ve walked on the moon. At this point it doesn’t feel like a technological problem, but more a matter of the political desire and the financial side.”

Although he had a strong interest in space as a child, Rose didn’t initially set out to be a rocket scientist. He enrolled at Michigan Tech on a football scholarship and majored in mechanical engineering. A friend alerted him to a school group called Aerospace Enterprise, which allows undergraduates to design and build satellites. 

Rose was applying to graduate schools during his senior year when, on a bit of a lark, he filled out an online application for NASA. Amazingly, that led to a 10-hour interview in Houston and a dream job offer.

Rose said his co-workers had a variety of backgrounds and skill sets. 

“NASA is very good at using diversity of thought to its advantage,” he said. “NASA needs all sorts of people. I worked with artists, pharmacists, people who came from the military. It was more about being passionate and good at what you do, rather than being good at math or something super specific.

“They are looking for how good you can work as part of a team and how quickly you can learn.”

About five years ago, an opportunity arose to be part of another team that builds systems to support the missions of NASA as well as other divisions of the space industry, such as commercial companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. 

Rose joined Orbion Space Technology, located in Houghton, Michigan. The focus there is on cutting-edge technology including electric propulsion, which Rose describes as being 20 times more fuel efficient than traditional propulsion systems used in space exploration. The advantages are being able to travel 20 times as far, or using 20 times less fuel and allowing more room on a spacecraft for astronauts’ food and other supplies. 

“The space station was awesome, but NASA is huge, and you do kind of feel lost in the enormity of it all,” Rose said. “Orbion is much smaller, and I can see my impact day-to-day.

“Things are changing so fast. The technology I’m working on now (didn’t exist) five years ago. All I really want out of my career is to leave an impact.”

There’s the added bonus of being much closer to home for both Rose and his wife, the former Sarah Kuehn, a 2015 graduate of DPHS. 

“You leave Wisconsin and might think you never want to go back, then you realize there are things you miss,” he said. “I love the Midwest.”

He also enjoys sharing his experiences with young learners, such as last December when he spoke to De Pere Middle School students. Rose pointed out that they are part of the first generation to grow up with humans continually in space. 

“NASA has made (space travel) routine,” he said. “Because it’s been happening for 25 years, to some maybe it loses its luster. But to me, it’s still very cool.”

In fact, Rose allows himself to dream about leaving gravity.

“I would still love to go to space,” he said. “If the opportunity ever came, it would be hard to turn it down.”

By Kerry Guyette, Hi-Light newsletter assistant editor, and DPHS Athletics secretary

 

In total, 47 De Pere students took part in the event. An award ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, March 11, at 6pm at the Brown County Central Library.

All 3rd and 4th graders who entered the DKG Literary & Illustration contest will have their work on display at the Brown County Fair, August 19-23, 2026.

Kontny teaches advanced placement European history and psychology, and Yang is an English language arts educator at the High School. 

Golden Apple Award winners are selected from among area educators who have earned the Teacher of Distinction recognition. Winners are announced in April.

Launched 33 years ago, the Greater Green Bay Chamber’s Golden Apple Awards program annually recognizes high-quality educators in Greater Green Bay in areas of professionalism, leadership, and innovation. The program is designed to improve awareness and the importance of quality education within our community.

This year, 172 educators and 7 teams from the Unified School District of De Pere were nominated for a Golden Apple Award. 

As school districts across Wisconsin face increasingly tight budgets, the Unified School District of De Pere is taking a proactive approach by expanding learning opportunities for students while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

Beginning in September, the District  will partner with Rural Virtual Academy (RVA), a statewide virtual charter school, to provide De Pere students access to a wide range of high-quality online courses. This partnership allows students to remain enrolled in the District while benefiting from expanded virtual learning options.

“Our goal is to ensure students don’t feel they have to leave De Pere to find the courses or learning environments they need,” said Superintendent Chris Thompson. “By partnering with RVA, we are keeping students connected to our schools, our community, and our district.”

RVA currently partners with approximately 75 school districts across Wisconsin and offers both live, synchronous online classes and asynchronous independent study courses through a catalog of more than 800 options. Students may take virtual courses to resolve scheduling conflicts, access electives not currently offered by the district, or meet individual learning needs while remaining eligible for De Pere activities, athletics, and a De Pere diploma.

“This is a rare win-win,” Thompson said. “When you look at the economics of education, it’s stronger for us to be in the driver’s seat.”

Supporting Students While Managing Costs

Student interest in virtual learning continues to grow. However, offering online courses can be costly. Through RVA, De Pere pays an access fee and course fees that are significantly lower than the costs associated with students leaving the district through open enrollment or participating in private school voucher programs.

When students open enroll into another public district, De Pere is required to pay a state-set per-pupil cost that continues to rise each year. By offering virtual options in partnership with RVA, the District can retain students and funding while expanding its course offerings in a cost-effective manner.

“Partnering with RVA allows us to meet student demand for virtual learning without the overhead costs associated with operating a full online program on our own,” Thompson said. “It gives us flexibility with staffing, supports required coursework and greatly expands elective opportunities.”

High Expectations and Community Connection

Founded in 2005 by the Medford School District and several partner districts, RVA is a publicly funded, nonsectarian virtual charter school authorized by a school board. Its consortium model allows districts to collaborate while maintaining high academic expectations.

“RVA holds students to rigorous standards and provides strong instructional support,” Thompson said. “Students are engaged, accountable, and supported—there’s no hiding virtually.”

The partnership aligns with De Pere’s commitment to keeping students grounded in their home community while providing innovative learning opportunities.

“At the end of the day, this is about doing everything we can to meet the needs of our students,” Thompson said. “Students shouldn’t leave De Pere because we don’t have something they need. We’re working to stay at the forefront and expand what’s possible—right here at home.”
 

Each year, the organization evaluates more than 18,000 schools across the country. Rankings are based on six indicators of school quality:

• College readiness
• Breadth of curriculum
• Scores on state proficiency tests
• Performance in reading, math, and science
• Underserved student performance
• Graduation rates

The weighted scores of those six indicators are transformed so each eligible school receives an overall percentile score between zero and 100. De Pere's score was 93.28. High schools are ranked against peers in descending order of their overall scores. Read more about US News and World Report's ranking methodology.

"We appreciate the recognition," says De Pere High School Principal Roger Allen. "It is one more data point that reflects the hard work being done by our students and staff with the support of families and the broader De Pere community."