A Universe of Inspiration
Interns share their favorite memories at JPL.
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"The people were all friendly and very helpful. The fact that they would take time out of their busy schedules to help interns stood out to me. The final presentation was memorable because I was able to reflect on how much I learned over the course of the internship. Having this experience validated all of the hard work that led up to the internship. It was a very rewarding experience that motivates me to continue to pursue my dreams. Getting an opportunity like this was a longtime goal of mine and JPL made a dream a reality for me."
August 14, 2023 | 8:50 p.m
"My time interning at JPL this summer has been such an amazing experience! I would like to thank my mentor, Dr. Duane Waliser, and the entire Atmospheric Rivers team for welcoming me into their group and for their incredible mentorship, encouragement, and advice. Everyone at JPL that I had the fortune of meeting has inspired me so much with their enthusiasm, kindness, and passion for learning. I am so thrilled to have been able to intern here at JPL, and I look forward to continue applying what I have learned. Thank you to all the mentors, research groups, and the Education Office for making this possible!"
August 23, 2021 | 6:26 p.m
"To every intern and JPLer I met this summer I want to say thank you. Everyone I have met here has been some of the best human beings I have ever had the privilege of meeting. Everyone here is kind, empathetic, considering, and (last but not least) has an extreme passion for space, space exploration, and the advancement of human knowledge. My first day interning, my group supervisor was giving a welcome presentation which had my legal first name in it. While presenting, he asked me if I had a preferred name to which I said "Jack" and he immediately stopped the presentation and right there edited the entire presentation to say "Jack." This gesture meant a lot to me because throughout college, professors and everyone who didn't know me called me by my legal name while only my friends and family would call me "Jack." From my group supervisor to my fellow interns, everyone has made me feel welcomed and accepted. Thanks Greg, Alex, Matt, and my fellow interns for making this summer so enjoyable!"
August 23, 2021 | 6:26 p.m
"This past summer, I was given a chance to do the work I had always dreamed of thanks to Ms. Tonya Bakke from the interview process to the end of my internship. I appreciate your trust in me, and you offered me the responsibility it's an honor. Again thank you so much for your unlimited support and help without any hesitation on your busy schedule. I missed our morning conversation and exchanging ideas to solve the problem. Honestly, it was so hard to leave JPL, and it took me two weeks to announce that I left officially. Thank you so much for allowing me to be part of NASA JPL. Working as a Data Mining of Quality Inspection Records with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Pasadena, California Remotely with group supervisor Tonya Bakke and the amazing people at the mechanical inspection group was a joy.During my internship, I learned a lot. I build long-lasting skills including data extraction, data analysis, data mining. Data processed, cleaned, arranged, examined data, & compiled together into helpful information. I also learned, how to work by focusing on comparison requirements to pull out historical discrepancy data, provide trends, Pareto charts. I was also able to established defect types of buckets for the JPL mechanical inspection group for the past two years recorded data set. The lessons I have learned from you from now on will stick with me for years to come. This entire experience has been truly life-changing. Special thanks to all NASA JPL executives, directors and all JPL employees, Tonya Bakke, the Education Office, my mentor Joseph Hunt, JessicaParker, JennyTieu, Brain, Brandon, Nikki, Laura, Richard McKnight, Jordan, Jean, JennaSalmen, University of the Distric of Columbia, Professor Xu, UDCCAMSTAR student club, for all my friends at University of the District of Columbia, my mom, my children, all summer 2021interns, especially those who make me comfortable with the new environment by giving support and advice. I am so grateful for all the help you guys provided me this summer, and I can't wait to see the next chapter of my life after or before graduation at NASA JPL soon. Thanks, and love you all!"
August 19, 2021 | 11:01 p.m
"Even in remote due to the hard COVID-19 pandemic, my time at JPL has been truly amazing, mainly due to my great mentors Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay and Marco Quadrelli. Thanks to them and all the amazing community working at the Lab, I've been able to grasp all of the passion and commitment feelings that make JPL be "The center of the universe". Thank you for this great experience and for giving me the chance to make one of my dreams come true."
August 19, 2021 | 10:44 p.m
"Contributing to NASA, especially NASA JPL, has been my dream ever since I was a kid. It was a dream come true to work here and be surrounded by a community of brilliant people. To me, my JPL experience meant that I was able to live out my childhood dreams, and contribute to a mission where it was going to advance our knowledge of climate change and search and rescue causes. One experience that I will take with my into my career as an expectation is the amount of mentorship available at JPL, and the close interaction I got with my co-mentors. Thank you to my mentors Cecilia Cheng and Helen Mortensen for their amazing guidance and interesting stories, and the NISAR SDS team and Section 398 for their mentorship!"
August 19, 2021 | 10:43 p.m
"Dear Jessica Samuels and the rest of the JPL employees, interns, and affiliates I met during my internship this summer of 2020, I would like to thank each and every one of you for inspiring me to reach for the stars and pursue my passion of contributing to space exploration and utilization. I will miss the compassionate community at JPL, as well as the challenging tasks meant to solve the toughest problems known to man. This is not just another area of science and engineering. What JPL works on is crucial to the future of humanity, including our own survival and our planet's proliferation. I now know what I want to utilize my skills for, and I would like to once again thank JPL and my mentors for impacting my life."
October 1, 2020 | 7:57 p.m
"My experience at JPL was a blast! Thank you to my mentors, Leigh Torgerson and Nate Richard, for offering endless encouragement and technical insight throughout my journey this summer. I am so grateful for their support, and I know the skills and lessons I have learned here at JPL will be invaluable for my career. Can't wait for the future of DTN!"
September 29, 2020 | 12:54 a.m
"I had an amazing experience working at JPL this summer! Although the internship was remote, I still felt very connected to the community through virtual events. I thoroughly enjoyed working with my mentor, Naiara Pinto, who was extremely welcoming and dedicated to helping me learn and increase my understanding of computer science. Her mentorship was invaluable, and I plan to take many of the new skills I learned about app development and security to future internships and careers. I also want to thank Kit Petrie and the FIELDS team at UCR for their support throughout the summer. Interning at JPL has been a dream!"
September 29, 2020 | 12:54 a.m