Shooting for the Stars

When most people picture a college student, they may not imagine someone balancing national rifle competitions and coding satellite data to detect oil in oceans.

But then again, Casia Steinhaus is not like most people. 

Casia grew up on a farm outside of Devils Lake, N.D., where she spent her days caring for alpacas and honing her skills in 4-H shooting sports.

She began competitive shooting at age 8 and qualified for the Junior Olympic by age 12. Despite this success outside of the classroom, Casia felt academically unchallenged in high school.

Connect with others in challenging STEM majors, because having that community is so important to your success.

“We didn’t have a lot of advanced classes, so I was really bored,” she said. That boredom became motivation — she enrolled in college courses early and earned her associate’s degree by the time she was 17.  

Now, a double major in physics and math at the University of North Dakota, Casia balances a 21-credit semester with research in astrophysics and machine learning, elite-level shooting and national scholarships that could one day take her to Oxford, Cambridge or NASA.

She also contributes to a supernova detection project at UND’s Martens Observatory and assists with classifying aurora structures captured by a specialized North Dakota camera system.  

“Since I’m taking 21 credits, I don’t have a lot of outside interests,” she joked. But that doesn’t stop her from achieving incredible things. 

Casia chose UND because it allowed her to pursue academics and competitive shooting.

“I had offers to compete in the NCAA, but if you do that, then you can’t also be a physics major. It’s just not going to work,” she said.

Instead, she competes in the National Collegiate Rifle Championships. “It’s important to be passionate about your sport, because that way it can feel like a break from school, and school can feel like a break from your sport,” she said.  

I would love to either work with remote sensing or telescope imagery; both of these are mainly coding-focused and with so many relevant applications to science.

Recently, Casia was selected for a DAAD RISE Germany Scholarship.

“I was one of 134 students in America to be chosen to do a research internship with a Ph.D. student in Germany,” she said. The project focuses on predicting optical properties of solid-state materials through machine learning. “I’ve never even been to Canada,” she said, expressing excitement about her first trip abroad. 

Her NASA experience includes a virtual internship at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City. “I mostly did coding…I contributed to detecting oil in the ocean from satellite,” she said. She was offered two more NASA internships — one involving antenna chamber testing in Maryland and another focused on instruments used aboard the International Space Station.

Due to scheduling conflicts, she had to decline both, but the work remains central to her future goals. 

“I would love to either work with remote sensing or telescope imagery; both of these are mainly coding-focused and with so many relevant applications to science,” she said. 

What sets UND apart for Casia is the early access she’s gained to meaningful research. “At bigger institutions, you have to be a junior or beat out a bunch of people to do a research project. It’s not really like that here.” 

Casia also finds strength in her community. “It has definitely pushed me to be a better student and applicant,” she said. “Spending every weekend studying is much easier with friends.” 

And her advice to new students? “Get involved with clubs and research. But most importantly, connect with others in challenging STEM majors, because having that community is so important to your success.” 

With her combination of drive, intellect and community spirit, Casia has proven she is more than a Leader in Action. She’s a rising star — one that UND can be proud to call its own.