Team Poland, from 2019 to 2024
In close coordination with Targi Kielce and POLSA, our first Polish team holds a special place in our hearts. President Duda met Al Worden in 2019 at the USA Partnership Pavilion at MSPO. The groundwork was laid for this first Polish team (see photos here). COVID halted our first missions to Space Camp for Poland, but 2024 will be our largest representation at camp (8 teams) and will include the long-awaited Mission Team Poland.
The Polish contest included nearly 200 applicants from around the country. The top 20 finalists were brought together in Warsaw on January 15th, at the Copernicus Science Centre to participate in an all-day competition to select the final four. The judging was difficult, but Tobiasz Dabrowski, Zuzanna Kassner, Benjamin Kopiec, and Aleksandra Skrocka rose to the top (see photos here)! They will be led by Anna Bukiewicz-Szul. Congratulations, and welcome to the Endeavour Class of 2024!
Application Videos
Benjamin Kopiec
“An ordinary high school student can become a part of the world of science.”
Zuzanna Kassner
“I want to inspire other young folks to take an interest in science. And even the sky isn’t the limit!”
Tobiasz Dabrowski
“I want to motivate others to reach their goals by reaching for the stars myself.”
Aleksandra Skrocka
“I see math as pure as it is.”
Scholarship Recipients
Benjamin Kopiec
Hi, my name is Beniamin Kopiec, and studying how the Universe works has always excited me the most. I love learning new things and I am taking on new challenges with pleasure. This has led me to participate in countless competitions and projects. Despite this, I continue to look for new fields where I can develop useful skills. When I am faced with a problem, I try to find creative and unconventional solutions. Thinking outside the box and an unstoppable curiosity best describe my attitude towards life.
In my free time, I pick up the guitar or play with friends online. I always do my best to be open to new experiences, which allows me to quickly learn new things. And besides, my favorite ice cream flavor is pistachio.
Zuzanna Kassner
My name is Zuzanna Kassner, I am 17 years old, and a sophomore in high school. My scientific passions include ecology, botany, neuroscience, and- most importantly- astrobiology. I conduct my own research about how nanoparticles can improve water stress resilience in plants. This can have application in food plantations on the space stations. I dream of working professionally on issues like that in the future.
Apart from science, I enjoy creating art and longboarding. I feel truly grateful to be able to participate in such a terrific program, which Endeavour is.
Tobiasz Dąbrowski
Hi there! I’m Tobiasz Dąbrowski, a 16-year-old high-school student from Warsaw, Poland. Since I was a kid I was fascinated by the mysteries of the Universe, but until the 7th grade I didn’t see it as a plan for life. However, that’s when my passion for space truly crystalized and I realized my future is working on humanity’s space ventures. Since then I’ve accomplished numerous achievements to bring me closer to my goal. During the high school freshman year, I’ve won Moon Camp Challenge with my team. It’s an international competition organized by the European Space Agency and Airbus Foundation, where the teams compete to create a CAD model of a Moon base. While being a sophomore, I founded IKAR – a rocketry club in my school, where we work on building an amateur rocket. We use a technology I’m really passionate about – 3D printing, which is also my hobby, alongside with CAD.
In my free time I like reading books (my favorite one is the Witcher short story collection), playing both tabletop and digital RPGs, listening to music and playing guitar. My goal is to become an engineer and an astronaut, setting my foot on the Moon or beyond. I’m beyond proud to have the opportunity to represent my country in the Endeavour Scholarship and look forward to taking part in this extraordinary venture.
Aleksandra Skrocka
My name is Aleksandra Skrocka, I‘m an eighteen-year-old senior student based in Warsaw, Poland. I’ve spent 4 years in class with extended physics and mathematics. Throughout my life apart from science I took great interest in different forms of art. I still love to create, I my free time I devote myself to broadly understood culture; I’m a fashion magazines collector, aspiring painter and cinephile. Equal mixture of math and art interests created me as I am – a paradox.
The idea of infinite universe blew my mind from a very young age thus every occasion I had I read about its mysteries. My curiosity towards space intensified when at the age of 9 when I visited Kennedy Space Center in Florida. I believe the moment I saw an authentic Space Shuttle Atlantis something in my brain clicked, in a way it changed my brain chemistry. There was always an idea of working in space field at the back of my mind, but I never had quite courage to actually pursue it.
I believe the scholarship will be an extraordinary adventure as well as an occasion to truly feel like an aerospace engineer who I aspire to become. I am beyond grateful for this absolutely unique opportunity to meet people from around the world who are just as ambitious and passionate as me. Being part of the first ‘Team Poland’ is an honour and a dream come true.
Anna Bukiewicz-Szul
Anna Bukiewicz-Szul – physicist. Physics and computer science teacher with 15 years of experience. Co-founder and leader of the WroSpace Association. Science popularizer, specializing in space exploration, astronomy and modern physics. Currently, as an expert in the Polish Space Agency she is responsible for creating and conducting the nationwide educational program related to the Polish Mission on the International Space Station.
An enthusiast, a social activist, and a volcano of positive energy. She is responsible for the organization and content of the World Space Week Wrocław and Yuri’s Night Wrocław events, one of the largest space-related popular science events in Poland. She is the Space Ambassador of the ESERO Polska Space Education Office. Co-organizer of training courses for teachers, during which she uses knowledge from international courses in which she has participated, including: organized by CERN, ESA and ASEF. Winner of the Polish Physical Society Award for Outstanding Physics Teachers in 2020, as well as the Constellations Award of the Industrial Development Agency in the “Future of the space sector” category in 2022. Privately, mother of two wonderful children.