Meet Timothy Denego, a summer 2020 intern in the Office of STEM Engagement at NASA’s Langley Research Center and business administration student at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas.
Timothy’s journey and support has been invaluable by the connections he’s made with NASA’s people, student programs, and culture. As NASA attends many career events this fall, read 5 reasons why Timothy encourages #NativesinSTEM to visit NASA at the American Indian Science and Engineering Society’s (AISES) Conference this month from October 15-17, 2020.
5 Reasons to visit NASA at AISES by Timothy Denego:
1) Natives at NASA
Natives at NASA has been an integral part for me on pursuing an internship for them. A solidifying moment for me was during the AISES National Conference where I ran into Orson John by the escalators while I was exploring the conference center. We discussed everything from his journey to NASA to academic advice/suggestions.
2) Networking
Making connections is something I encourage students to do as much as they can. During my time at AISES 2019, I attended a couple different NASA panels that were held and gained valuable information about the Natives at NASA and NASA’s culture overall.
3) Opportunity
Being made aware of and exposed to all the information throughout my internship has been invaluable to my educational and professional goals. I’ve had conversations with other more knowledgeable people in their respective fields and have been motivated to potentially enter into a field in which NASA is currently looking into delving more in depth.
4) MAIANSE – Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) for American Indian and Alaska Native Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Engagement
This all wouldn’t have been possible without my initial networking connection I made with Caroline Montgomery, MAIANSE’s Communications Strategist, before even my first AISES conference, but at an AIHEC (American Indian Higher Education Consortium) National Conference in March 2019. I then met her again during my first AISES National Conference in October 2019, where I also met the majority of the Natives at NASA. The MAIANSE mission is something I’ve resonated with since I first learned of it and continue to want to contribute to them anyway I can.
5) Culture
The Culture at NASA is always something I’ve heard about and respected, but to actually intern for them and get firsthand experience as to how they treat all their employees regardless of position is something I’ll never forget. All the employees I met at the conference were all welcoming and all had a desire to answer any questions that students had.
We hope to see you at AISES 2020! Learn more where NASA will be this fall by visiting our fall 2020 career events. Learn more about student opportunities at nasa.gov/stem and internships at intern.nasa.gov.