Meet the Founder: Diallo Wallace on TESA's Why

In this short film, TESA founder Diallo Wallace introduces the Academy — what it stands for, why it exists, and the kind of students he's building it for. It's a one-minute walk through the mission in his own words.

The "Why"

"My why is to make astronauts. I'm very motivated to make as many lunar and Martian walkers come right here from Queen Anne's County."

That's the line that anchors everything else. TESA isn't a tutoring program with an aerospace coat of paint — it's an explicit pipeline aimed at producing the next generation of people who actually go to space, starting from Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Reclaiming Maryland's Aerospace Legacy

Sixty to seventy years ago, Maryland was a meaningful aerospace hub — one whose contributions show up across some of the field's biggest milestones. That legacy has faded from public consciousness. Diallo wants to bring it back to the forefront, and to make sure the next chapter is written here, with local students.

Fun and STEM Aren't Mutually Exclusive

A core part of TESA's pedagogy is rejecting the idea that rigor and excitement live in different rooms.

"Sometimes the belief is that the Venn diagram of fun and STEM are mutually exclusive. No — these are going to be overlapped, and they're going to be doing some really incredible things."

The same applies to math. Diallo reframes it from gatekeeper to instrument:

"Math does not have to be this challenge. It's an enhancement or a tool that you use to get insights in science."

Hands-On, Even at a Distance

TESA students don't just read about engineering — they work with the tools. The curriculum runs students through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics from a computational standpoint, and goes further:

"Students will be able to access our wind tunnels remotely. It's 2026. We can get the science out there and the engineering to you."

Empowering the Student to Choose

Diallo's ambition for graduates isn't just college acceptance — it's the leverage to make universities compete for them.

"When they present their portfolios, I'd like for those schools to say, 'What is it going to take for you to come to us?'"

Engineering as a Mindset

This is the part that crystallizes Diallo's philosophy:

"I'm of the age where the belief was that you had the engineering gene or you didn't. I don't subscribe to that. It's a mindset. It can be cultivated. It can be developed. It should be encouraged."

It's a quiet repudiation of the fixed-mindset framing that has steered too many capable students away from STEM before they ever got a fair shot.

The Goal

"I want this to be an aerospace center of excellence — that when people say, 'Hey, where can we go and cultivate or bring some young scientists and engineers up?', they say, 'Go to Queen Anne's County, because they're doing big things there.'"

That's the bar. That's what we're building toward.

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