Recognition

State of Indiana, Office of the Governor. State House, Second Floor, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. Mike Braun, Governor.

September 25, 2026

Tanaka Chonyera, Founder, Dreamernaut. 27045 Jerkwater Rd, Sheridan, IN 46069.

Dear Mr. Chonyera,

On behalf of the State of Indiana, I want to thank you for your dedication to supporting, educating, and inspiring the next generation of Hoosier STEM graduates.

For our students to succeed, it truly takes a village. By dedicating your time to helping these students design and test their own rockets, you have given them the opportunity to learn valuable life skills that will shape their futures. Your mentorship provides these young men and women with a powerful outlet to pursue creativity, practice critical thinking, and demonstrate the ingenuity needed to carry Indiana to new heights.

To the students joining us today: we look forward to seeing your hard work pay off as you test your creations here at the Sheridan Airport. I wish you the best of luck and wish your rockets a safe flight. Take what you have learned here today and use these skills as you continue your education and build even greater creations in the future.

Sincerely,
Mike Braun
Governor of Indiana

Dear Tanaka Chonyera,

On behalf of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), it is with great pride and distinction that we formally recognize you as a 2026 NSBE 25 Under 25 Honoree.

This recognition is reserved for exceptional students and young professionals under the age of 25 who have demonstrated measurable impact, exemplary leadership, and sustained excellence across STEM disciplines, innovation, research, entrepreneurship, and community advancement. Your selection reflects not only technical achievement, but a clear commitment to advancing the mission of NSBE: to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.

Honorees are selected through a competitive national nomination and evaluation process conducted by NSBE leadership and appointed review committees. Your inclusion among the 2026 cohort places you within a distinguished class of emerging leaders who are actively shaping the future of engineering and technology.

This recognition is formally issued in conjunction with the 2026 NSBE Annual Convention. Honorees are authorized to display the official 2026 NSBE 25 Under 25 digital credential across professional platforms, biographies, institutional communications, and public materials.

We commend your accomplishments, your leadership, and the standard of excellence you continue to set. The future of STEM is strengthened by your vision and contribution.

Congratulations on this well-earned honor.

With distinction,
Janeen Uzzell, Chief Executive Officer, National Society of Black Engineers
Chika Okwor, 2025-2026 National Chair, National Society of Black Engineers
Jazmine Bullock, 2026 Convention Planning Committee Chair, National Society of Black Engineers

National Society of Black Engineers. 25 Under 25. Honoree. 2026. (Official digital credential badge: a navy and gold shield with the NSBE torch crest; issued to Tanaka Chonyera, verifiable at the Credsverse link above.)

Michigan State University. Certificate of Scholarship.

Tanaka Chonyera has been recognized for outstanding achievement and awarded the Boeing Scholarship.

February 20th, 2024 (Date of Event). MSU EGRID (Engineering Inclusion and Diversity).

LDRS 44 Flights. April 16th thru 19th, 2026. Pence, Indiana. Indiana Rocketry.

Total Flights: Low Power 208 (24%). High Power 515 (60%). Certifications 94 (11%). Skippy 35 (4%). Total Flights 852.

Daily Totals. 4/16/2026 Thursday, 133 flights: Low Power 42 (32%), High Power 83 (62%), Certifications 6 (5%), Skippy 2 (2%). 4/17/2026 Friday, 392 flights: Low Power 89 (23%), High Power 240 (61%), Certifications 37 (9%), Skippy 26 (7%). 4/18/2026 Saturday, 84 flights: Low Power 30 (36%), High Power 41 (49%), Certifications 6 (7%), Skippy 7 (8%). 4/19/2026 Sunday, 243 flights: Low Power 47 (19%), High Power 151 (62%), Certifications 45 (19%), Skippy 0 (0%). (Page 1)

Motors Consumed (class: count, impulse in Ns, burn time in s, percent). A: 25, 50, 21, 2.7%. B: 19, 83, 16, 2.0%. C: 30, 263, 57, 3.2%. D: 34, 573, 55, 3.7%. E: 27, 878, 46, 2.9%. F: 54, 3,335, 109, 5.8%. G: 73, 8,407, 232, 7.9%. H: 207, 51,704, 332, 22.3%. I: 111, 50,554, 193, 12.0%. J: 141, 118,553, 315, 15.2%. K: 91, 164,524, 261, 9.8%. L: 49, 174,239, 166, 5.3%. M: 53, 373,806, 225, 5.7%. N: 12, 170,146, 72, 1.3%. O: 1, 30,000, 4, 0.1%. Totals: 927 motors, 1,147,115 Ns, 2,104 s, 100%.

Launch Totals. Total Weight Launched 8,199 lbs. Total Motor Thrust 258,101 lbs. Total Motor Burn Time 35.1 minutes. Total First Flights 189 (22%). Total Cluster Flights 21 (2%). Total Multistage Flights 19 (2%). Total Research Motors 61 (7%). Total Sparky Motors 77 (8%). Total Motor Ejection 513 (60%). Total Electronic Ejection 356 (42%). Total Chute Release Use 160 (19%). (Page 2)

Rocket Manufacturers. Scratch Built 253 (29.7%). LOC 190 (22.3%). Wildman 154 (18.1%). Estes 71 (8.3%). All others 50 (5.9%). Madcow 26 (3.1%). Public Missiles 21 (2.5%). Unknown 19 (2.2%). Apogee 16 (1.9%). Dragon Rocketry 9 (1.1%). Thoy 7 (0.8%). Mach 1 6 (0.7%). Rocketry Warehouse 5 (0.6%). Aerotech 4 (0.5%). Composite Warehouse 4 (0.5%). Foxy Rocketry 4 (0.5%). Giant Leap 4 (0.5%). Binder 3 (0.4%). MAC 3 (0.4%). Performance Rocketry 3 (0.4%). Total 852. (Page 3)

LDRS 44 Top 25 Flyers by Total Impulse (flyer: total impulse flown, weight flown, number of flights, city, state, level). 1. Brent Rubinow: 53,530, 346.1, 10, Oviedo FL, L3. 2. Charles Swindler: 41,461, 142.0, 5, Glendale Heights IL, L3. 3. Lisa Gaboury: 33,690, 153.8, 14, Westport MA, L3. 4. Todd Harrison: 30,000, 142.0, 1, Washington DC, L3. 5. Taylor Jessee: 24,381, 137.3, 5, Kansas City MO, L3. 6. Christopher Phillips: 23,433, 125.7, 5, Parker CO, L3. 7. Ben Murdock: 21,618, 174.0, 3, West Lafayette IN, L3. 8. Andrew Bissonnette: 20,433, 80.0, 3, Parker CO, L3. 9. Donald Hanson: 20,206, 131.3, 4, St. Louis MO, L3. 10. Chandler Tollison: 19,943, 172.0, 3, Marshfield WI, L3. 11. Eric Beavers: 18,279, 69.7, 4, Grand Junction CO, L3. 12. Dennis Watkins: 17,842, 63.5, 2, Huntington IN, L3. 13. Doyle Elkin: 17,790, 131.0, 1, Moncks Corner SC, L3. 14. James West: 17,185, 107.0, 5, Lakeland FL, L3. 15. Garnett Byrd: 16,803, 90.0, 1, Ft. Lauderdale FL, L3. 16. Eric Peltzer: 14,804, 99.0, 3, Jersey City NJ, L3. 17. Donald Vetter: 14,200, 100.0, 1, White Marsh MD, L3. 18. Gary Dickinson: 14,041, 68.0, 1, Germantown OH, L3. 19. Peter Tselekis: 11,320, 78.4, 6, Bethesda MD, L2. 20. Jesse Botta: 10,953, 70.1, 33, Lowell MI, L2. 21. Charles Durst: 10,801, 94.7, 6, Neillsville WI, L3. 22. Rob Vader: 10,555, 38.6, 5, Van Orin IL, L3. 23. Nick Adams: 10,528, 71.1, 5, Greencastle IN, L3. 24. Justin Kissel: 10,482, 50.0, 1, Taylor MI, L3. 25. Sean McKibben: 10,482, 4.8, 1, Lafayette CO, L3. (Page 4)

LDRS 44 Top 20 Flyers by Most Flights (flyer: number of flights, weight flown, total impulse flown, city, state, level). 1. Tanaka Chonyera: 34 flights, 108.8, 7,324, Indianapolis IN, L2. 2. George Pike: 15, 76.4, 10,330, Downers Grove IL, L3. 3. Lisa Gaboury: 14, 153.8, 33,690, Westport MA, L3. 4. Low Power Flyer: 13, 6.6, 159, Pence IN, L0. 5. Michael Rohde: 13, 6.6, 380, Centerville OH, L1. 6. Brian White: 12, 24.7, 2,552, Morgantown WV, L1. 7. Brent Rubinow: 10, 346.1, 53,530, Oviedo FL, L3. 8. Eric Lyman: 8, 31.3, 1,427, Mooresville IN, L0. 9. Eric Cayemberg: 7, 50.3, 4,654, Manitowoc WI, L3. 10. Andrew Hickman: 7, 23.6, 474, Corryton TN, L1. 11. Marc Houde: 7, 93.5, 8,142, Forestdale RI, L2. 12. Sok Sai Alan Clifton: 6, 52.3, 4,026, Greenfield WI, L1. 13. Jeff Boldig: 6, 90.8, 9,345, Pittsboro IN, L3. 14. Charles Durst: 6, 94.7, 10,801, Neillsville WI, L3. 15. Emrick Engelman: 6, 4.9, 200, Dayton OH, L2. 16. Mark Frye: 6, 19.7, 1,171, Carmel IN, L2. 17. Matt Goodman: 6, 22, 1,831, Portage MI, L1. 18. Geddy Karrle: 6, 70.9, 5,300, Valparaiso IN, L2. 19. Jeremy Smith: 6, 72.7, 8,987, Highland Charter Township MI, L3. 20. Peter Tselekis: 6, 78.4, 11,320, Bethesda MD, L2. 21. Richard Tuggle: 6, 33.5, 5,624, Madison AL, L2. (Page 5)

Note: Low Power Flyer = all the kids that flew low power rockets that could not be tracked back to a registered flyer. Several flights were Team flights, but a single registered flyer needed to be used for this summary data. Apologies to the rest of the team.

Report prepared by Paul Wolak, 5-11-2026. (Page 6)

Tripoli Rocketry Association, Inc. Membership card.

Member: Tanaka C Chonyera. Membership Number: 32847. Cert Level: 2. Sr. Member - Insured. Expires last day of 10/2026. (Home address redacted for this public copy.)

INDIANAPOLIS - Is the sky really the limit?

For one Indianapolis engineer, that question is fueling the imagination of young minds one rocket at a time.

When night falls over downtown Indianapolis and thunder rolls across the skyline, Tanaka Chonyera is at work inside his apartment.

There's barely room to walk inside his home. Rocket parts, boxes and materials fill nearly every corner. Furniture was once part of the plan.

"My initial intent for this space was to actually have furniture," Chonyera said.

Instead, it became mission control.

A passion that started across the world. Chonyera's love for rocketry didn't begin in Indiana. It started in high school in Botswana, where he proposed building a rocket for a STEM competition.

"Some people laughed at me because they thought it was like a ridiculous, outlandish idea," Chonyera said. "The infrastructure for it wasn't really there."

But Chonyera pushed forward. Chonyera went on to win an essay competition about satellites, beating competitors from across the African continent. That victory took him to French Guiana, where he watched an Ariane 5 rocket launch, a moment he said cemented his passion for space.

Bringing rocket science to Indy kids. Now in Indianapolis, Chonyera is paving the way for the next generation.

Chonyera launched a free rocket boot camp for kids in Marion County through the Minority Engineering Program of Indianapolis. After pitching his idea to the nonprofit's board, the program backed it with grant funding, allowing students to participate at no cost.

"This brings them closer to that dream if they've had it as a kid, like I had it as a kid," Chonyera said. "When they go through this, it makes it real."

Students build and launch their own rockets, learning hands-on engineering skills along the way. Chonyera emphasizes safety, teamwork and creativity, even encouraging unique paint designs that reflect each child's personality.

Chonyera's grand mission is ambitious. He wants to see 1,000 rockets launched from Indianapolis by the end of the year.

"To make Indy have the most rockets per capita in the world," Chonyera said. "I am at around 80 right now... so that's 80 individual people each with their own rocket."

The boot camp, Chonyera said, gives kids a chance to gain hands-on experience in the STEM field.

"Space is the limit, really," Chonyera said. "And there is no limit in space. It just keeps going."

If families are interested in getting involved, they can contact the Minority Engineering Program of Indianapolis through its website or social media pages or by contacting Chonyera through his social media. The program is completely free.