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ARTSTUDENT
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a cohesive maturity rarely found in a ‘student artist.’ “It was very shortly after seeing her show that I invited her to collaborate on a fine art print edition at my publishing company, Santo Press. Since that encounter, I have come to know that her work ethic and productivity reveal nothing but professionalism. She lives life with the enthusiasm of a child in a calm and humble manner – an artist to keep an eye on.” Kale said her watercolor painting “Desert Beauty” shows the beauty of the state. “I find that Arizona has so much beauty scattered around,” she said. “It’s so different from the palettes we are so used to seeing. When you think of desert you think of saguaro cactus, nothing really pops up in your mind. “I’m blown away at the variety of nature that I see here and it’s so beautiful. I have my phone and I take photographs of the plants I see wherever I go. I just wanted to put them together. Over the years I’ve grown to love this landscape so much. I think this is my tribute to what I feel about Arizona and how beautiful it is, the beauty and variety of nature.” Kale grew up in India and moved to the United States 18 years ago, first settling in California, where her husband, Vikram Thatte, had been working. The couple has been in Arizona for
CADET
SANTAN SUN NEWS | MAR 16 - APR 5, 2019
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Jason Dudley, senior planning analyst for SRP and chairman of SRP Vets, a group that promotes understanding of the military culture and professional growth for its members, said he was impressed with Nelson in her essay and in person. She was given the honor in a ceremony at Basha High last month. “She’s someone that is humble, intelligent, driven and possesses the character and leadership quality that are representative of any community leader and certainly a member of the military,” Dudley said.
“Desert Beauty,” created by artist Shachi Kale, was chosen to be the cover art for the commemorative program for the 2019 Governor’s Arts Awards. (Mesa Community College)
17 1/2 years and have two sons: Shatanu Thatte, 13; and Ishaan Thatte, 8. Kale said Shatanu loves drawing a comic strip and Ishaan is also creative but not into drawing. Shachi’s mother, Suniti Kale, recently visited, and is also an artist. “I’m really excited and honored to be a part of it,” Shachi said of her award. “I’m blown away. This is the first time for me knowing about this and taking part. I’m absolutely thrilled and honored to be selected at all.”
He said he was impressed when he read her essay saying her character traits are not just displayed when she is in uniform but all the time. Dudley said her essay was “incredibly well-written” and he could tell she put a lot of thought into it. He added the fact she can stay “so grounded and so motivated” with several other siblings at home is something most people probably could not do. “What these students are doing is very admirable,” Dudley said. “JROTC is not a requirement for them. They’re doing this on their own volition and how can you not support that? This scholarship is just one way we can show our support and hope other businesses will show support as well.
Leslie Satterlee spends time with her daughter, Gwyn, 7, at their home in Chandler. Gwyn is a cancer survivor and she will blow the horn at the ninth annual Children’s Cancer Network’s Run to Fight Children’s Cancer today, March 16. (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer)
CANCER
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Helping their daughter fight and beat cancer brought Leslie and Galen closer together, Leslie said. “Now we’re just a lot more grateful for good days and experiences and being all together,” she said. Leslie said she and her family are thrilled Gwyn was chosen to be the horn blower at the race. “We were very excited that they chose us,” Leslie said. “We try to do what we can to raise awareness and raise funds.” It is estimated 15,270 adolescents and
children ages 19 years old and younger were diagnosed with cancer in 2017, the National Cancer Institute said. Since starting, the Run to Fight Children’s Cancer has raised nearly $600,000 for lifesaving research and treatments at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, as well as providing gas and meal cards and other support programs through Children’s Cancer Network. The cost for the race is $50 for the 10K and $40 for the 5K while the Cancer Survivors’ Walk is free. Information: runtofightcancer.com
Women’s underwater robotics team makes a splash BY MELODY BIRKETT Contributor
Imagine an Olympic size pool filled not with swimmers but with underwater robots. That was the scene recently when an all-female team of elementary, high school and college students put their prototyped submarines to the test – thanks to a partnership between the ASU Polytechnic campus in Mesa and the Si Se Puede Foundation of Chandler. Si Se Puede provides educational opportunities and services for underserved populations, and the students are part of SeaPerch, an underwater robotics program. “SeaPerch is a very user-friendly underwater competition for elementary, junior high and high school,” said Si Se Puede President and CEO Alberta Esparza.
Students build underwater robots in a way that they can make decisions on their own as they pick up things and perform other tasks. They are too small, however, for anyone to hop a ride on. (Melody Birkett/Contributor)
“It’s their first exposure to robotics. Once they finish this program, we have a program called NURC (National Underwater Robotics Competition) which is more advanced.”
“We are the only nonprofit doing land, air and sea robots in Arizona,” said Esparza, who also trains teachers in the program. The ASU all-female team is the Desert
WAVE (Women in Autonomous Vehicle Engineering), the only second all-female underwater robotics team in the world. The first is Texas A & M. They’re working on a self-driving submarine for an international competition where robots from 20 international collegiate teams will compete in the National Underwater Robotics Challenge June 28-30 in San Diego. “It’s an all-women team that’s going to design, fabricate an autonomous submarine for the RoboSub competition,” said Daniel Frank, lecturer at ASU Polytechnic campus. “It’s not the kind of submarine the Navy would have. They’re a lot smaller. These submarines can be up to six feet long, three feet wide and three feet tall. They’re designed to not have people on board.” See
ROBOTS on page 47