Happy interns’ day from the UCF-MSTAR fellows! During this summer the students have been interning at different NASA centers across the country. Each student has been able to experience different events and opportunities. Here are the stories of our awesome interns:
Janice and Andy are working at Kennedy Space Center virtually. Janice shared that working as a NASA OSTEM intern has been a dream this summer. She said that it still feels unreal at times, but working on posters, doing presentations, attending events have really helped remind that she is pursuing an opportunity that she has dreamed of before!
Andy said that this internship opportunity has given him the chance to fulfill his childhood dream and have a chance to contribute towards the progress of NASA’s mission—human spaceflight for the benefit of all mankind. Over the course of the past school year, he has grown on many fronts as a young STEM professional. Mentorship has been at the center of this growth; through this direct guidance, insight, and feedback he has been able to learn about what it takes to develop simulation codes from the ground up.
Katrina is one of our students at Kennedy Space Center. Katrina said that her NASA internship this summer has been nothing short of incredible. She has been exposed to multiple opportunities for unique experiences. She was able to assist a rover testing in Big Bin (the giant lunar simulant enclosure in Swamp Works), watched several rockets launches up close, and even met the launch director for Artemis I, who is the first female launch director in NASA’s history. She has been enjoying working with her fellow interns. Something valuable that she learned this summer is that an internship is truly what you make it, and who you work alongside. I will be treasuring these moments for decades to come.
Emma and Bryce are working at Kennedy Space Center. Emma said that her internship has been amazing, and she is very sad that my NASA badge is expiring in less than two weeks. Her experience has been awesome. Working on an experiment that will fly in space in a building where Apollo astronauts used to train is remarkable. One day, she also got to pretend that she is on the moon whilst she dug lunar regolith simulant in a big bin. Along with her fellow interns she had the opportunity to see launches up close, see the Space Launch System in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), and meet the first female launch director! Meeting and working with other interns are fun, and I love the work environment. She is very grateful to have this internship, and she has learned massive amounts from it.
Bryce shared that his time at Kennedy Space Center has been an amazing experience in which he has been able to meet so many new friends, mentors, and professionals in the field. One of the best parts of my time here has been the networking with fellow interns and employees, there’s ample opportunity to mix fun with work like organizing Hawaiian shirt days. He has been enjoying being an Intern for NASA and am crossing my fingers I get an opportunity to return.
Perla, Jackson, and Oneilia are working at NASA Langley Research Center. They have been able to experience some of NASA’s history. Jackson said that NASA has taught him a lot about real world work environments and research. He’s been having the best internship that he could have imagined thanks to some of the best fellow interns. This internship has shown me that working hard can bring great things your way.
Oneilia said that her experience at NASA has been wonderful, she has met so many wonderful people. Since it’s National Intern Day, she wanted to share that that this internship has been an adventure of a lifetime.
Perla shared that she has been able to grow as a professional and improve her research skills. She also mentioned that she is ready to continue working on projects that will impact the world. Perla also shared that no matter your career field, pursue your goals and make sure to network. Getting out of her comfort zone has always been a challenge, but being in a place like NASA, she has been able to learn beyond her expectations.
Chrostopher is our only student at the Johnson Space Center, and he has been getting the most out of it. He shared that he could not be more grateful to be given the opportunity to be a part of the Artemis generation of NASA at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). The culture and passion for the advancement in human health and performance during space flight is something every aspiring and current medical school student can become immersed in when interning at NASA. Creating a complete experience and environment that supports the next generation of innovators in space flight and human health is at the forefront of JSC’s mission. For international intern day the intern coordinators at JSC arranged a tour of the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) facility! Analog missions serve to prepare us for future exploration to asteroids, Mars, and the Moon by creating situations and environments on Earth that produce effects on the human body like those in experienced in space. HERA itself is a habitat designed to act as an analog for isolation, confinement, and remote conditions in exploration scenarios. During this tour they were able to explore the HERA habitat and learn from the scientist directly coordinating the studies. The scientist explained the details of the analog studies, how study tools are implemented, and how our understanding of certain effects of space flight are studied through these analog missions. This tour is one of many I and many other interns get to participate in that contribute to the complete experience of a JSC intern and I look forward to writing about all my other experiences at JSC!