By Molly Burke / Jambar Contributor
For most Youngstown State University students, the Ward Beecher Planetarium fire meant a temporary change of location for astronomy classes.
However, for senior Aubree Peterson-Spanard, it meant a disruption in career preparations.
When she became a planetarium student employee in August 2021, she was working with the star projector and helping with shows — unaware her job would drastically change.
“That was really really rough, especially as someone who wants to go into this field as a full-time profession,” Peterson-Spanard said. “It was hard for me to have that outlet for the experience taken away completely at first.”
Peterson-Spanard discovered her interest for the stars at a young age.
“Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved space and learning about what is beyond the sky,” she said. “I actually have a vision impairment. So, this wasn’t the best idea, but when I was a kid, I would look up at the sky and I would try to say, ‘Oh, my vision must be getting better because I can see three more stars than three nights ago.”
Throughout the 20 months without the planetarium, the staff live streamed shows on Facebook. While it wasn’t a face-to-face experience, Peterson-Spanard was able to make some of her own presentations for the livestreams.
“I’m really glad that we were able to do our Facebook live shows because it still allowed the public to interact with us and for us to have that educational piece,” Peterson-Spanard said. “I’ve been able to get experience actually presenting and being able to lecture for certain startalks.”
She’s now halfway through her last semester on campus, excited to work under the stars again.
“Having the planetarium open back up now, I can finally get that experience in person because it’s so hard to connect with people when you’re looking at a screen,” Peterson-Spanard said. “It truly means everything to me. I cannot stop smiling while talking about this place.”
