Chemical Engineering Senior Explores World Through Rocket Kids

Chemical Engineering Senior Explores World Through Rocket Kids

Gregory Zickes is a committed chemical engineering student at The University of Toledo.

He's mulled over the chemical reactions that have propelled his team's vehicle forward in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers' Chem-E Car-Competition. He's put his coursework to practice in two co-ops at Anderson Development Company, a chemical manufacturing facility in Adrian, Mich. And he's expanded his professional network through the local chapter of the professional engineering fraternity Theta Tau.

But Zickes, a second-generation Rocket who's on track to graduate with his bachelor's degree in December 2025, has also been conscientious about exploring opportunities beyond UToledo's College of Engineering. It's a key reason he opted to spend the summer not in a classroom, laboratory, or office, but on a military base in Brunssum, Netherlands.

"I didn't want to just be an engineering student," Zickes said. "I wanted to explore the world, and the Rocket Kids program has been a great opportunity to do that."

Rocket Kids is a UToledo-led program that recruits and trains current students and recent graduates from across the country to provide quality child development at military bases around the world. Housed in the UToledo Judith Herb College of Education, Rocket Kids launched in February, 2023, with a $11.5 million, five-year grant through the Department of Army Installation Management Command-Europe NAF.

Zickes recently participated in the program's second summer cohort as one of more than 75 interns based at nine military bases in Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

Any U.S. citizen enrolled at a U.S. college or university is eligible to apply to intern with Rocket Kids, which trains students online and in-person at UToledo, Indiana State and San Diego State. Applicants in any academic program are welcome, so long as they have experience working with children in a professional group setting.

Zickes was pleased to learn of his own eligibility in a conversation with a friend who had enjoyed his summer in Brussels, Belgium, so much that he was planning to sign up for the second summer of Rocket Kids.

"I'd assumed I needed to be an education major to participate," Zickes said. "I found out that wasn't the case, and I thought, OK, maybe I should think about this."

Zickes applied and was placed at the School Age Center in the U.S. Army Garrison Benelux-Brunssum in the Netherlands, where he and his fellow interns spent the summer planning outings and activities and generally looking after the children of military families who range in age from kindergarten to fifth grade. Some activities were a hit, he said, while others demonstrated the importance of adapting on the fly - maybe letting the kids take the lead and make up a game involving dodgeballs, plastic cones and gymnastics-mat "islands."

Travel opportunities during the weekends were another highlight of his experience with Rocket Kids, he said, describing whirlwind trips to destinations like Amsterdam, Munich and Paris.

"In one day we saw the Cathedral of Notre, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower and Catacombs," he recalled of Paris. "It was exhausting, but it was so cool to see all of the sites in person."

Now back at UToledo, Zickes is looking toward his final semesters on campus and his final of three paid, semester-long co-ops in the College of Engineering.

A point of distinction for the college, the integrated co-op program proved particularly attractive to Zickes when he was considering where to enroll after his graduation from Toledo's St. Francis de Sales School in 2021.

"I knew I'd want to buy a house soon after I graduated. I didn't want to have to deal with student loan debt that would affect my ability to follow my dreams," Zickes said. "UToledo is very affordable as an accredited engineering school that requires co-ops, so it was an easy decision for me."

Zickes said he can appreciate how his co-op experiences so far have prepared him for a career as a chemical engineer. And, perhaps less obviously, he can appreciate how his experience with the children at the military base has prepared him, too.

"One of the big takeaways for me is that I'll be working with a lot of different people throughout my life, and it's important to know how to communicate with them," he said. "Whether it's kids or coworkers, communication will take you a long way."

Rocket Kids is currently recruiting students for the spring semester. For more information and to apply, visit the Rocket Kids website.