Santa Ana College STEM students made it to the finals of the 2026 NASA ORBIT challenge. Team MEKAH has five students: Arthur Alcocer, My Le, Tony Mendoza, and Michael Trang from Santa Ana College, and Ken Khant from UC San Diego. The team presented their innovative work in Houston, Texas, to other students and professionals from all over the country.

NASA ORBIT invites students across the nation to use NASA patents for commercial applications and design new technologies. The prizes include up to $380,000 and NASA mentorship.

Teams from 100 different schools all over America competed, but only 11 made it to the finals. My Le, the founder of the team, also supports Continuing Education students in the SCE High School Diploma Lab. She shared her excitement on hearing the news. “When they showed the list of finalists, at first I thought we were out because I didn’t find our name at the top. But when I saw our name in the bottom left corner, I was screaming.”

Go here if you would like to support the team and help them further their goals!