Meet JPL Interns | August 20, 2014
Going the Distance
I grew up moving around in the U.S. and Mexico, which made it hard to
keep up with school. I mainly struggled with my language arts classes,
but there were areas in which I excelled: math and science. I was in
high school when I decided I wanted to be a scientist; I was fascinated
by the explanations of the world through chemistry and physics. Although
I was living in Mexico at that time, I never gave up on the dream of
attending an American university to pursue my education. In 2010, my
family and I moved to California.
I was already a high school senior in
my last semester when I enrolled in school. I had already missed all
the university deadlines, hadn't taken the SATs and had to attend adult
school in the afternoon to make up for missing credits. Despite all of
that, I graduated on time and decided to attend the College of the
Sequoias, a local community college, where I am now majoring in
chemistry. (I will be transferring to the University of California, Los
Angeles in the fall!)
During my freshman year, I heard about the NASA National Community
College Aerospace Scholars Program, and I decided to give it a shot. I
used my basic knowledge of chemistry to write a series of proposals for a
mission to Mars that included a timeline, budget and rover design.
Based on my individual performance, I was selected on a competitive
basis to attend the on-site team project at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory. There were about 40 students from all over the U.S. We were
split into four teams to put our ideas together and build a rover. We
called our team "Red Planet Research" and our rover was named "Isis."
(It was my birthday!) Through this I experience, I saw what it takes to
be a NASA scientist and engineer. I also discovered that I wanted to
become one of the JPL scientists who are involved with exploration
missions. I was hooked on studying the Earth and planets. I returned to
my school excited for what was to come and shared my excitement with
others. I am happy to say that four students from my community college
participated in NCAS this year at JPL.
In August of 2013, I
received an email from NASA Education saying that I had been selected to
receive the Minority University Research and Education Program (MUREP)
scholarship! The program guarantees two summer internships at any NASA
center. Right away, I knew I wanted to come back to JPL. Although I come
from a small community college, I managed to be a competitive applicant
due to my involvement with science, technology, engineering and
mathematics programs, such as the Mathematics Engineering Science
Achievement Program and the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and
Native Americans in Science.
This summer, for the first of my
two NASA internships as a MUREP scholar, I am working in the
AstroBiogeoChemistry (ABC) Lab measuring hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in
hydrated clay minerals. Our goal is to improve instrument precision and
techniques for possible future return-sample missions.
It's a
dream come true to finally work in a planetary chemistry and
astrobiology lab. I have the opportunity to meet researchers who are
passionate about their work and be involved in exciting research. But I
think the best part of the internship is my lab group. There are two
other interns, two post-doctorate interns, a Ph.D. student, and my
mentor. They all take the time to tell us about the work they're doing
and, most important, mentor us as rising scientists. Throughout my
experience, I have learned a lot about research, and I am inspired to
continue in the STEM field. I was nervous before coming to JPL and
didn't know what to expect, but being part of the ABC Lab has exceeded
all my expectations. I encourage all community college students to apply
for NASA opportunities.
Although my internship is coming to an end, I am happy to say that I will be back next summer to do more exciting research.
Learn more about JPL internships and fellowships
TAGS: Women in STEM, NCAS, Community College, Internships & Fellowships, Chemistry, Planetary Science, Astrobiology, Geology, Women in STEM, Hispanic Heritage Month, Women at NASA
Internship Pathways | November 18, 2013
Lunar Lessons
When people ask me what I want to do with my life, I tell them, "Every little kid wants to be an astronaut when they grow up - but I never outgrew it." It was in eighth grade that I realized I wanted to be an astronaut and explore our solar system. The journey wasn't always easy, however. I was consistently laughed at and made fun of in high school when I would tell people that my dream was to work at NASA and one day become an astronaut. No one really expected me to stick to those dreams, let alone accomplish them.
Fast forward a few years, and I
entered college at the Florida Institute of Technology, where I
double-majored in physics and space science to learn more about stars
and comets. One moment I will never forget is orientation day for my
department. A professor asked the freshmen in the room who wanted to be
an astronaut, and every hand in the room shot up. I knew I was in the
right place.
In my sophomore year, an upperclassman sent an email around about a scholarship-internship program with NASA, called MUST (Motivating Undergraduates in Science and Technology). I figured it was a long shot, but decided to apply. To my delight, I was selected and given the opportunity to begin living out my dream by interning at Kennedy Space Center for the summer. I worked for Dr. Philip Metzger, a granular physicist who leads NASA's research into rocket blast effects for manned missions. In the Granular Mechanics and Surface Systems Laboratory, I designed and built experiments to study how the spray of lunar soil from a landing rocket will impinge upon and damage hardware at a future lunar outpost.
This NASA experience changed the course of my career, in a very good way. I suddenly realized I was far more interested in the surfaces of planets and in planetary exploration than in stars and astrophysics, and decided after that summer to pursue planetary science for my graduate studies.
I returned to KSC the next summer to work with Dr. Metzger on a new project that involved studying the compaction and magnetic properties of lunar soil using various experimental methods. We were working on developing more effective ways to store large quantities of soil for mining.
The summer before starting graduate school, I was offered an internship at JPL working on the proposed MoonRise mission, lead by my (soon-to-be) advisor, Dr. Bradley Jolliff. MoonRise would have been a robotic sample return mission to the lunar farside. I was part of a team of students who were tasked with designing an instrument to fly on the spacecraft. We designed a camera system that would have flown on the communications satellite and detected impact flashes from impacting meteorites. Unfortunately, MoonRise was not selected to fly, but the experience shaped my future career path. I realized I really enjoy the mission design and planning process and decided that summer that I wanted to both study the moon and plan for future missions.
I am now a couple years shy of having my Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Science, and have loved the journey. My research focuses on studying the effects of rocket exhaust on lunar soil properties and volcanic complexes on the moon. Once I have finished my graduate studies, I plan to apply for a position at NASA and become involved in mission planning. I hope to work on the problems associated with rocket exhaust effects on planetary surfaces and continue to research geologically interesting locations on the moon. Ultimately, I plan to apply to become an astronaut candidate and maybe even become the first woman to walk on the moon! My NASA internships helped me realize my true passions and have paved the way for the career path I want to take. I'm incredibly happy in the field I'm in and hope that funding for both NASA and NASA education programs continues so that other students with dreams like mine have a chance to see them come true.
TAGS: Women in STEM, Planetary Science, Physics, Moon, Career Guidance, MoonRise, Women in STEM, Women at NASA