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8th Grader Selected By NASA To Receive A Message From Mars

The "You've Got Perseverance" Award celebrates select middle schoolers who push past obstacles to reach lofty academic goals.

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One deserving Westchester middle schooler now has friends in high places.
One deserving Westchester middle schooler now has friends in high places. (School of the Holy Child )

RYE, NY — A Holy Child student earned an out-of-this-world honor at a special surprise event that took place both with her classmates in Rye and on another planet.

Eighth grader Marisa Marino was chosen by NASA as one of only 16 students across the country and the only one in the Hudson Valley to receive their "You've Got Perseverance" Award.

In a celebration attended by Holy Child's entire middle school (grades 5-8) in the school's theater, Marino received a special personal message live from the Perseverance rover on Mars.

Find out what's happening in Ryefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Have you ever received a personal message from another planet? Marisa Marino has. (School of the Holy Child)

The honoree was nominated by her middle school science teacher, Ashley Massey Marks. Marino's otherworldly journey to the award began when she served as the mission director for the Challenger Center Mars simulation on her 6th grade field trip to the Challenger Center in Ramapo in 2020.

The "You've Got Perseverance" Award celebrates middle schoolers who push past obstacles to reach their academic goals.

Find out what's happening in Ryefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Marino (pictured in the front row, far right) launched her ambitious journey to national academic recognition during a field trip to the Challenger Center when she was in the sixth grade. (School of the Holy Child)

Communication with the Perseverance Mars rover was established but no word on who will foot the roaming charges on the cellphone bill. (School of the Holy Child)

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