BATON ROUGE — Southern University students, faculty and alumni gathered to watch the Artemis II capsule splash down on the West Coast. 

The College of Sciences and Engineering hosted the watch party to celebrate the university's connection to the mission. Alumni helped work on both the Artemis mission, Dean of the college, Lealon Martin, said. 

Freshman Trey Smith, who majors in mechanical engineering, was one of the many in attendance.

"I'm so happy to be here and that knowing a jaguar means more," Smith said.

Smith says seeing Southern's impact on space exploration is inspiring.

"To think that I could do something like that one day is absolutely amazing," he said.

Associate Professor and alumna Sheryl Lafleur says moments like this show what's possible at Southern.

"Don't hesitate, invest in your heart and your desire to be in engineering or any part of it, in computer engineering, then this is a place you should come," Lafleur said.

Martin says the university's role in the mission reflects its leadership in science and technology.

"That's a reflection of the leadership role that we play when it comes to science, technology, and innovation, and that, and that, and that we develop all of our talent and we give all of our talent an opportunity to shine," Martin said.