No job is too hard; no posting is too remote for Ginger and Steve Burow.
January 2025–Every volunteer who comes to SystemsGo arrives for a different reason. For Steve and Ginger Burow, the reasons began with their daughter, Chelsea.
It was during her junior year at Fredericksburg High School, when the rocket her team built failed Stage 2. Stymied, she turned for help to the person who had taught her how to work on trucks–her dad, Steve.
“He helped Chelsea think things through,” Ginger explains. “She and her class rebuilt the whole rocket, and then we went out with her the next day to watch them launch it. And while we were there, they drafted us into doing recovery.”
The next year, the Burows were called on to help haul three large rockets to White Sands Missile Range, strapped to a trailer behind their Suburban. The family has worked as dedicated volunteers ever since, traveling to launch sites, working as a recovery team and filling in on whatever needs done, from setting up the launch rails to filling in at Mission Control. Steve now serves as Pad Chief at the WSMR launches. Ginger converts her personal blog into a daily chronicle of every detail during launch days. She is also stepping in front of the cameras interviewing students for the livestreaming.
All that help makes a big difference to the success of SystemsGo, as Program Director George Burns acknowledges.
“It would be very difficult for SystemsGo to put on launch events and have the impact that the program has on students’ futures if we didn’t have amazing volunteers like the Burows,” Burns said.
The Burows’ contribution in time is even more amazing when you consider that Ginger and Steve use their personal time and vacation days for volunteering. Both work at Central Texas Electric Coop, where Ginger serves as Consumer Representative and Steve as Substation Maintenance.
So what drives them to attain that level of commitment, year after year?
“We both have volunteer souls,” Ginger says. “It’s the excitement of seeing the students’ eyes light up when a launch goes well. Even when they get their rocket back in a trash bag, it is still exciting to see them trying to figure out what went right or wrong. It’s fascinating.”
Like many other volunteers, the Burows see themselves as ambassadors for the innovative project-based program. While traveling with the teams, Steve often found himself talking about SystemsGo with strangers while waiting to fill up at gas stations. He now serves on the SystemsGo board.
They have seen the benefits of the program in their own daughters who went through the program. Chelsea majored in Physics with two Minors in Math and Renewable Energy at Texas Tech University, and now works for SpaceX as a Development Test Technician. Most recently working on the Dragon Capsule Team.
Daughter Kasey is a career Naval officer, who started out as a helicopter mechanic and worked on the Sea Dragon. She now services all types of aircraft.
“Their knowledge from being in the SystemsGo program has benefitted them at work,” Ginger says. “Employers are now recognizing the skills students bring from being part of SystemsGo. They learn how to talk to people, how to navigate the grants and money situation. There are so many aspects they absorb and take with them into their futures.”
Program Director George Burns and Executive Director Rebekah Hyatt show appreciation for the contributions of the Burow family.
The value of the support the Burows provide is deeply appreciated by Rebekah Hyatt, Executive Director.
“The Burows are such a blessing, and not just at launch events,” Hyatt notes. “The practical experience Steve has with our program adds value to our Board of Directors meetings. Ginger’s love of blogging helps to keep our public informed of the day’s events, particularly at WSMR where livestreaming is not possible. Chelsea, with her knowledge of propulsion, is so willing and able to troubleshoot and fix on the fly–a very necessary skill when you are launching rockets! And Kasey, she, and many others are why we have the freedom to do what we do.”
Another generation of Burows is already in training.
The couple plans to keep volunteering, and their unique legacy of service shows no sign of stopping. Two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter Layla is already a familiar face at launches, meaning it won’t be long before another generation of Burows is helping SystemsGo students reach the skies.