When asked to sum up the friendship between Ezra and his mentor, Jordan, Grand Rapids Program Coordinator Danielle beamed: “They’re best buddies!”
Ezra is obsessed with the wonders of space. His mentor, Jordan, is the perfect match for the 11-year-old as he teaches him all about his role in quality assurance through NASA.
“Their friendship is amazing because Jordan is very, very good at getting on Ezra’s level and he has a lot of very similar interests as Ezra, like building Legos,” said Danielle.
One of their biggest projects involved them building the Europa Clipper, a spacecraft being developed by NASA, entirely out of Legos. As Jordan works on the actual spacecraft, he is able to teach Ezra all of the cool features on the project.
Another one of the friends’ passions is travel. As Jordan has had to travel for work, he’s included Ezra in his traveling by showing all of the fun places he’s been. When Jordan went to Alaska, one of Ezra’s dream destinations, Jordan was sure to share his views so Ezra could feel like he was there with his friend. To return the favor, Ezra took time out of his family trip to Hawaii to share the breathtaking views on a call with Jordan.
“Their calls are so important to the both of them,” said Danielle. “They’re on the call for like an hour and a half and they just love catching up!”
Jordan has become more than just a mentor to Ezra; he’s now a close friend that is able to share his passions and dream alongside Ezra. They have made countless memories throughout their friendship and are truly out of this world!
