Elevating Teens: Rigby senior with wide range of interests dreams of working at NASA

RIGBY — Rhya Nuffer is a senior at Rigby High School. She is a member of multiple clubs and teams, including the rocket club and “Battle of the Books” team.

Nuffer joined the robotics club at Rigby as a sophomore. By the end of the year, she was a member of the rocket club, but she cannot explain what inspired her interest in either field.

“I just always thought it sounded cool, you know, because I’ve always been good at math and science,” she told EastIdahoNews.com.

Asked if this interest is something she could see pursuing as a career, Nuffer responded without hesitation.

“That’s what I’ve always thought about doing,” she said. “I think it would be cool to work at NASA.”

Nuffer said the most surprising thing she has learned as a member of the rocket team is how “normal” the science behind it is.

“It seems like this strange, bizarre — like, rockets are so technical. But as soon as you start explaining everything, it makes a lot more sense than you think it would,” she said.

The scientific mind that allows Nuffer to understand the inner workings of rockets also impacts her reading interests.

She is a member of the Rigby “Battle of the Books” club — which reads or pre-determined selection of books then competes in trivia contests against teams from other area schools. As a member of the team, she regularly reads books she otherwise would not have. However, she has read books that align with her love for science fiction as part of the club.

She was recently tasked with reading “All Systems Red,” by Martha Wells.

“That’s one of my new favorite books — I just loved it so much,” Nuffer said.

While not reading or building robots and rockets, Nuffer dances ballet — something she said few people at school know about her.

She has danced at a school in Rigby for 11 years. And though her dancing is not with the intention of competing, each year she finishes with a big performance when she and her classmates show off their new collective skills.

This year, Nuffer will play the main character — Rapunzel — in a performance of “Tangled.”

Dancing is something Nuffer hopes will remain among her interests away from school.

“I think it would be really fun to find somewhere to dance because I have always loved doing it,” she said.

After she graduates, Nuffer will attend Utah State University. She has not yet declared a major, but will be entering the university’s math and science focus area.