It was a brisk, clear fall night at the White House when Brooklyn International HS senior Sofy Alvarez stepped out of the crowd of astronomers, students, congressmen and astronomy fans to show President Barack Obama how to use a reflecting telescope. 

Explaining each part of one of the telescopes set up on the lawn at the second annual White House Astronomy Night on Oct. 19, Sofy, who is from Paraguay, told the president, “And that’s how you’re going to be able to see the moon, like it’s right in front of you.” Sofy and classmates Chris Burgos, Yinghui Zou and Najm Qachi, as well as Osarhuwense Otasowie from Midwood HS and Kyra Ali from South Brooklyn Community HS, were among more than 150 students from across the country invited to the event. All were chosen because of their interest in STEM subjects — science, technology, engineering and math. As juniors, the six Brooklyn students had all been part of a City Astronomy apprenticeship at the Beam Center, a nonprofit that collaborates with public schools in providing learning opportunities in all STEM fields. In his opening remarks, President Obama spoke of his commitment to encouraging students, especially girls, to enroll in STEM studies and his goal of training 100,000 new STEM teachers by the end of the decade. “It was a phenomenal experience for our students, and we’re very proud that they were chosen for this opportunity,” said Eileen Meeker, the chapter leader at Brooklyn International.