Failure to Future: An Intern’s Journey to Success

Erica Kriner as a child, posing in front of an abstract art mural that consists of NASA, Apollo, and other space-related items.
Erica Kriner as a child, posing in front of an abstract art mural that consists of NASA, Apollo, and other space-related items.

“Failure is not an option.” Erica Kriner thought that this quote was a motto that she could live by. She then learned that the quote is a little misleading. “Failure is inevitable; what defines your character is what you do after it happens,” Kriner said. 

NASA Fellowship 

Erica Kriner recently graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography with minors in Sustainability and Anthropology. She is also a former Audio Storytelling NASA intern with a Fellowship from the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Her primary duty as an intern was to help with scripting and producing NASA’s Curious Universe which is a podcast where she told stories about science and the people behind it at NASA. 

NASA Fellowships are competitive awards to support independently conceived or designed research, or senior design projects by highly qualified faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students, in disciplines needed to help advance NASA’s missions. This gives them the opportunity to directly contribute to advancements in STEM-related areas of study. The Fellowship opportunities are focused on innovation and generating measurable research results that contribute to NASA’s current and future science and technology goals. 

DEVELOP Program 

Kriner was also a part of NASA’s DEVELOP Program which conducts feasibility studies that bridge the gap between Earth science information and society. These projects help both participants and partners learn more about using geospatial information. Three times a year, participants apply through a competitive application process. Those selected conduct 10-week research projects in interdisciplinary teams of 4-5 people. They work closely with DEVELOP science advisors and mentors to apply Earth observations address to real-world problems. Through this process, participants build both research and science communication skills. These skills and project experience help set them up for success in the workforce. 

In Defeat, I am Defiant. 

It’s difficult for Kriner to put into words what it means not just to have this internship but even just to be at NASA. She feels like every decision she has made for her future has not just been for herself. 

Those decisions have been for her family: her mother, who raised her young and single, and who had to drop out of college and donate plasma every week just to pay the bills; her grandparents, who opened their home to them and who supported Erica unconditionally, even after she had to come home from college and was at her lowest point. “I’m not just building my legacy here; I’m also continuing their legacies of tenacity, compassion, and resilience. Everything I do is because of them and for them.” Kriner said. 

From the vantage point of hindsight, I can say with certainty that the moments that felt like failure were the moments that made this path possible. I wouldn’t be at NASA if it weren’t for those initial failures.” 

Succeed with NASA like Erica has and apply to be an intern at our website today! Also, feel free to check out Margarita Bassil, a NASA intern who also interpreted her mistakes as lessons to become successful at NASA. 

Lunar Soil: The Key to Breathing in Space- Shayla Wilhelm

Shayla Wilhelm standing in front of the Launch Crawler
Shayla Wilhelm standing in front of the Crawler Transporter.

If you can dream it, you can do it. Shayla Wilhelm saw the frothy sea of the Milky Way as she grew up in a small town in New York. Using a telescope, Wilhelm saw stars and planets shining everywhere across the sky. After realizing how much she loved what she saw in the sky, she ended up seeing a future in aerospace engineering. 

Oxygen in Space 

If astronauts on the moon can harness the oxygen under their feet, sustaining a human presence on the moon may not be so difficult after all,” Wilhelm said. Currently, Wilhelm is a junior at the Florida Institute of Technology where she is majoring in Aerospace Engineering. As a former NASA intern at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, she worked on the Molten Regolith Electrolysis (MRE) Project. 

The purpose of the MRE Project is to create oxygen on the Moon and to use it in astronaut tanks. By taking the soil on the Moon, Wilhelm would then melt it and run an electric current through it. This would split apart the metal oxides into molten metal and oxygen. After this process, the metal would then sink, allowing the oxygen to be separated, harvested, and eventually purified and distributed. 

This process is potentially an important step in setting up long-term research centers on the moon and beyond. 

Internship Takeaway 

As an intern, Wilhelm had a very hard time to describe an “average” day while at NASA. While she spent every single day differently, she is grateful that her days as an intern was always a unique experience. From staying in the lab and analyzing data, to working in the machine shop and getting her hands dirty, Wilhelm would always be excited and feel lucky enough to take on these new and innovative tasks every single day. Wilhelm also got the opportunity to expand upon her software skills, improve her technical writing, and more. 

Have you ever dreamed of working with NASA? Check out our website for more opportunities and information. Also, feel free to read more exciting stories such as Andrew Hoang, another former NASA intern who worked on parachute landings! 

Grace Pham/ NASA Johnson Space Center

Women’s History Month: The Impact of Mentorship

Women’s History Month is a time to highlight and celebrate the extraordinary women whose legacies empower women today in the pursuit of their dreams. 

Sofia Williams is a fourth year biomedical engineering student at the University of Texas and a NASA engineering pathways intern at Johnson Space Center.
Photo Credits: NASA, Sofia Williams

It wasn’t always this easy for women to learn STEM and be respected in this field, so I am eternally grateful to the women that paved the way for me to have a career at NASA,” Fourth Year Biomedical Engineering student Sofia Williams said.

Williams views this month of remembrance as a time to not only highlight the trailblazing women from the past who broke ground for females at NASA, but also reflect on the women at NASA today who are tirelessly working to mold the next generation. Throughout her time at NASA, Williams has met countless women who have helped shape her own development. However, the woman who Williams admires the most at NASA is her internship mentor, Brandale McMahan. 

 “Brandale is in charge of leading the xEMU suit tests and is a highly critical part of verifying that our suits will be ready for our upcoming Artemis missions,” Williams said. “Every day that I worked with her, I was in awe of how she commanded the tests and led our team with ease and grace. She has always welcomed me at NASA and made me feel like my voice was heard and skills were valued. I hope to one day lead teams and advance projects like Brandale does.”

 NASA internships provide an avenue for students to learn from professionals in their chosen field and to gain confidence in their own abilities. One of the key elements of NASA internships is the practice of mentorship. Mentors challenge interns in their projects while offering them instruction, encouragement, and support throughout their NASA journeys.

Sofia Williams holding a Space Shuttle EVA (Extravehicular Activity) glove used by NASA on Campus. Photo Credits: Sofia Williams

“Brandale has significantly influenced my decision to pursue a career at NASA because she helped me to believe that I am capable of being successful here. I was unsure of whether I belonged or could keep up, but after the lessons she taught me and guidance she offered, I know that I will go on to achieve great things.”

 Mentors instill self-confidence in their interns by assuring them that their contributions, skills, and perspectives are worth sharing. They play a key role in overcoming imposter syndrome and helping students discover their passions. These inspiring female mentors are not only making history through their own careers and contributions, but molding the next generation of women at NASA by providing direction and encouragement to students.

Sofia in an ISS Airlock Vacuum Chamber. These vacuum chambers are used to certify the suits and other hardware for space.
Photo Credits: Sofia Williams

“Being a female at NASA during the Artemis era is empowering and inspirational. For the first time in history, we are planning to send women farther than they have ever gone, and women are a part of the process every step of the way,” Williams said. “It is so inspiring to see what women can do when they come together at NASA for a common goal, and I feel so grateful to be a part of it. Having the opportunity to be mentored by such incredible women and work alongside them on projects has been one of my favorite parts of my time on the Artemis spacesuit team. I know young girls and women from all across the world will be watching history unfold during the Artemis missions and feel empowered to set their goals to the moon as well.”

Written by: Megan Hale

 

Internships Celebrates Pi Day

Today we are taking Pi beyond the sky – stop by your nearest bakery or serve up a nice slice as we celebrate Pi Day! 

Every year, math enthusiasts around the country celebrate Pi Day on March 14 because the date 3/14 resembles 3.14 – the famous first few digits of pi. At NASA, we celebrate Pi Day every day using the number to explore space! 

The use of pi dates to Babylonians about 4,000 years ago, at which “3 times the square of the radius of the circle was used, which returned a value of pi = 3. Egyptian mathematicians approximated pi with a bit more precision at 3.1605, as indicated in the Rhind Papyrus, dating back to 1,650 B.C. 

The Greek mathematician Archimedes (287-212 B.C.) used a visually creative approach to approximate pi by using the areas of two polygons.”  In 1706, Welsh mathematician, William Jones, introduced the symbol for pi. 

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

On March 14 (or 3/14) in 1988, physicist Larry Shaw held what is believed to be the first official celebration of Pi at the San Francisco Exploratorium, which of course, included large amounts of pie. The idea quickly gained traction, and in 2009, the U.S. Congress ate up the idea, officially declaring March National Pi Day in hopes that it would cultivate a higher level of excitement for math and science in students. Pi’s bond with the circle makes it accessible for students of all ages. 

No matter the size of a circle, it could be a pie or a planet; it is always equal to pi. Pi is used to answer questions about anything circular. Pi is most often rounded to 3.14, but its digits go on forever and don’t appear to repeat. 

Fun Fact: Albert Einstein’s birthday and Pi day are celebrated on the same day. 

Do you want to celebrate Pi Day every day? The application deadline for summer internships is quickly approaching. Apply by March 18 at NASA Intern.  

Written by: Waryn Flavell 

 

Cognitive Communications: Strengthening NASA’s AI Presence in Space

Shilpa Kancharla working virtually from home during her Space Communications and Navigation Internship Project (SIP) position in the summer of 2021.

From self-driving cars to digital assistants, the future of technology development lies in the role that artificial intelligence (AI) will play to bridge the gap between human and machine. In a specialized area of this growing field, NASA currently is developing cutting-edge cognitive communications tools to utilize AI in space.

Cognitive communications research advances communication capabilities for missions by increasing the autonomy of links, networks, and service scheduling. A cognitive spacecraft can adapt to changing conditions by producing reasonable outcomes in scenarios that extend beyond the pre-programmed knowledge of its original inception.

The development of autonomous spacecraft is essential for NASA as the agency explores deeper areas of the universe than ever before. A cognitive spacecraft learns from previous data collected over time, in turn keeping up with NASA’s technological advancements, to transition toward a decentralized cognitive space communications system. As the system learns from itself with autonomous technologies, the spacecraft or engine can make advancements within itself based on what it learned without human intervention on the ground.

Shilpa Kancharla, a 2021 Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) intern at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, spent her summer working with mentors Dr. Charles Doxley and Dr. Rachel Dudukovich, engineers on the Cognitive Communications project, to create tutorials for the utilization of communications data in various AI systems.

The SCaN Intern Project (SIP) is a ten-week-long internship hosted by Glenn , NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. SIP allows students to gain hands-on experience working with interdisciplinary mentors on real NASA missions in specialized areas of space communications and navigation.

Kancharla, a master’s student at North Carolina State University, spent the summer analyzing various programming tools, specifically tools such as Nengo and Amazon SageMaker, to determine how to add the maximum amount of value to NASA’s existing AI architecture for space communications missions. The first tool Kancharla analyzed was Nengo, a tool that allows for neural network simulation on larger scales.

“Nengo is a Python package that contains functions and other code that help mimic the brain structure for higher processing tasks, like recognition and perception,” Shilpa said. “It’s a step up from other Python packages that are related to AI.”

Example of the code Shilpa created in Nengo for the Cognitive Communications project at NASA’s Glenn Research Center

This area of AI, or Cognitive, technology aims to mitigate the increasing communication complexity for mission users. By increasing the effectiveness of cognitive communications technology, NASA could create communications CubeSats with the ability to overcome obstacles, respond to and learn from their environments, and achieve beneficial goals to the completion of their primary missions with minimal to no human interaction, a large step from the existing navigations infrastructure.

The guide Shilpa worked on will instruct users in handling the Nengo programming tool, demonstrate how to create new sections of code, explain what each interface does, and review document variables—all while highlighting the largest benefits Nengo offers as an AI interface.

Shilpa analyzed the effectiveness of a second Python tool, SageMaker, as well.

“SageMaker allows you to develop, train, and deploy machine learning models with data you have in the cloud,” said Shilpa. “It’s not local to your computer; anyone who has access to it with the right credentials can see your work model.”

Python was Shilpa’s programming language of choice because it is the best language for AI and machine learning. The AI-related programming tools that Shilpa investigated will contribute to real NASA missions.

“I hope to compare the Python code that I write independently on my computer for a task to how SageMaker can automate it [for NASA],” Shilpa said. “We basically assess the accuracy of our [AI] model between the code I write and the accuracy that SageMaker obtains.”

Shilpa received an offer to return to NASA GRC SIP for a fall internship and will continue her project work virtually while earning her master’s degree in computer science at North Carolina State University.

Learn more about the NASA SCaN Internship Project here. Read more about NASA’s Cognitive Communication’s project here.

Shilpa Kancharla speaking with former NASA Astronaut Alvin Drew during her virtual 2021 GRC SIP internship.

By Bronson Christian

NASA Intern to Students: Explore, Discover, and Apply!

Credits: Marvin Jones.

My name is Marvin Q. Jones, Jr. I am a PhD student majoring in astrophysics at the Indiana University Bloomington. I am currently interning at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the title of my intern project is “Pulsed Fission Fusion (PuFF) Propulsion System.”

Name: Marvin Q. Jones, Jr.
Degree: Astrophysics, PhD student
Institution: Indiana University Bloomington
NASA Center: Marshall Space Flight Center
Project Title: Pulsed Fission Fusion (PuFF) Propulsion System

About my project:
PuFF aims to create a propulsion system that will take exploration to new levels with goals of missions to Mars, Alpha Centauri, and other deep space exploration. The PuFF concept makes use of mathematical and physics models in COMSOL to simulate feasibility and efficiency of various components such as the pusher plate nozzle and electromagnetic coil gun. Physically, the system will take in lower energy input, which will lead to a smaller, less expensive (hybrid) propulsion system. Lower energy input will translate into smaller capacitor banks and a smaller overall propulsion system. A smaller system would have far reaching applications toward other projects with NASA.

My journey to NASA and advice to students:
I have wanted to work for NASA since the 5th grade when my teacher, Mr. John Evans who currently works for NASA, taught my class to build a Mars terrain, and use LEGOs to build and program our own rovers. My internship strengthened my desire to be a computational astrophysicist for NASA and apply to become an Astronaut. Exploring space vehicle design, physics models, numerical simulation, and applications to space exploration was an experience I will treasure when I hope to someday see Earth from space. This internship helped me realize that my background, my village, and training fully prepared me to do the work.

Growing up in Newport News, VA, and living in Newsome Park, VA, which was where Dorothy Vaughn lived for a period of her life feels like a deeper connection to those formerly Hidden Figures who came before me. North Carolina A&T State University, my undergraduate institution, always taught me to explore, discover, and become anything I thought possible. North Carolina A&T didn’t teach me what to think but how to think, which for any intern is key. Thinking about problems and asking good questions is an artform that every intern at NASA needs in their toolkit.

Credits: Marvin Jones.

I think any student with a curious mind should give the internship program a try. No question I asked was too small or too great, experimentation with ideas was highly encouraged, the ability to contribute and be heard was appreciated, and the skills I gained are unfathomable. I would advise any applicant to assess their current skills and the skills they desire–speak on both as they apply. It is about being teachable just as much as it is about what you contribute. As I stare at the canvas of my future, NASA has given me new skills to curate a masterpiece. To students: explore, discover, and apply!

Space Station 20th Celebration: NASA Interns Put the ART in SMART

2020 has been an interesting time to be an intern. With NASA centers across the nation adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency’s interns were challenged to complete their rigorous intern tasks from home as telework interns.

With a focus on connecting these high achieving students to the NASA mission, NASA Internships partnered with the International Space Station Program to create a summer intern challenge to celebrate the 20th anniversary of human habitation aboard ISS.

NASA interns from each center were challenged to design a postcard to celebrate the anniversary. The submissions were then vetted by the Internship and ISS offices and the top 16 submissions faced off head-to-head in an Instagram bracket challenge reminiscent of the NCAA Sweet 16. Voting occurred from July 27-30, 2020 on the NASA Internships’ Instagram account.

When voting was complete, the top three designs were selected to be used in STEM on Station events across the nation for students grade K-12. Congratulations to the winners and see all of the amazing designs below. Happy 20 continuous years of life on the space station, ISS!

Submissions for this challenge were placed in a Sweet 16 bracket face-off.
First Place Winner

Center: NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center
Title: “Still Reaching”

Credit: Bradley Arias, Sara Caudill, Eathan Devine, Ciera Knabe, Sarkis Mikaelian, Howard Peng, and Nathan Sam.

Participating AFRC Interns: Bradley Arias, Sara Caudill, Eathan Devine, Ciera Knabe, Sarkis Mikaelian, Howard Peng, and Nathan Sam.
Description: The title of this piece, “Still Reaching,” is a simple phrase that the Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) team decided represents both the 20 years that the International Space Station (ISS) has been in orbit conducting scientific research and future aspirations in space exploration. To best represent the essence of humans in space, a first-person perspective was optimal. This postcard shows that it is not just the astronauts that have been in space, but the ideas and innovations of those back on Earth as well. With a first-person perspective, people looking at the postcard can visualize what it would be like to be in space themselves. To represent unity, the AFRC team decided that depicting multiple astronauts tethered to the ISS was the best approach, because it shows how the very concept of humans in space is supported by something that the whole world has come together to develop. In addition, since it is 20th anniversary of the ISS, the team incorporated the number 20 into the center of the image by using the tether as the “2” – representing the important role the ISS will play in achieving Mars exploration – and by using Mars as the “0” – a nod to the Artemis Generation which is the current goal for space research and expansion. Since the theme of the postcard was reaching towards the exploration of Mars, the astronaut is quite literally reaching out towards Mars. The AFRC team showcased the Lunar Gateway, a future spacecraft that will be permanently in lunar orbit to support future missions to the moon.

Second Place Winner

Center: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Title: “Highway to Heaven”

Credit: Adele Payman .

Participating JPL Intern: Adele Payman.
Description: A vision of the future. Three astronauts are taking a spacewalk. They pause to admire the view: space taxis shuttle passengers to and from the lunar gateway; a Mars resupply mission has launched from the Moon; Cassini’s successor is well on its way to Saturn. It’s another busy day in the era of celestial transit, on a ‘highway to heaven’ which the ISS helped pave. With this postcard, I wanted to showcase the ISS’s role over the past 20 years in facilitating the development of technologies and infrastructure for exploring the Moon, Mars, and beyond. I also wanted to recognize the countries involved in the ISS project (USA, Russia, Japan, Canada, and ESA member states), as well as some other nations which have sent astronauts to the station.

Third Place Winner

Center: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Title: “Through the Looking Glass”

Credit: Victoria Colthurst.

Participating JPL Intern: Victoria Colthurst.
Description: The astronauts are looking through the ISS window where the find the Moon to the left, representing where we’ve been and Mars out ahead, representing where we are going.

Congratulations to all of the amazing NASA interns for their submissions! Enjoy them all below.

Timothy Denego: 5 Reasons to visit NASA at AISES

Summer 2019 intern, Timothy Denego, shares 5 reasons why students should visit NASA at AISES 2020.

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:

Timothy Denego meets NASA engineer Orson John at AISES 2019.

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.

National Intern Day 2020: LinkedIn Social Q&A Event

For National Intern Day 2020 on July 30, the internships team is answering your questions! Our call to action on LinkedIn gathered questions from the public on our internship programs. Below are Q&A for students interested in a NASA Internship!

Question: My daughter and son are 11 & 9 yr old and are interested in joining this program one day. What coaching and mentoring can you give for these tender minds to prepare for the big day? Subjects and electives to choose in their middle and high school?

NASA STEM Engagement’s website is a great resource for K-12 and Higher Education students and educators. Source: NASA STEM.

NASA Internships: Our NASA STEM Engagement is a great resource and starting point! STEM opportunities are available from K-12 to Higher Education. Make sure to follow NASA STEM on social media as well! Don’t forget to build upon soft skills and take on leadership opportunities. 

Question: How would a high school junior from Orlando apply for one of these internships? What are the requirements in terms of classes and grades – how are they picked? 

NASA Internships:  Our eligibility requirements include:

-US citizen
-16 years of age at time of applying
-3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale
-Attend an accredited institution

Students apply to specific projects on intern.nasa.gov each session. Organizations within the agency will then select students who are the best fit for their project. We encourage you to visit our website to learn more!

Question: I’m looking to change careers and I am a current Masters GIS grad student. For someone in my position, should I be applying to technical internships or entry level positions?

Source: NASA Armstrong.

NASA Internships: You may be eligible to apply to all! When you visit intern.nasa.gov you can learn about NASA STEM Engagement’s internships program, Pathways Program, and Fellowships opportunities. Simultaneously, apply to USAJobs for NASA positions that may interest you! Check out these stories on Careers at NASA Armstrong and 10 Things You Can Be Doing Now to Prepare for a NASA Internship.  

Question: What are key items to include on a resume to increase chances of becoming a candidate for an internship position with NASA? 

Check out our fall 2019’s Virtual Career Fair on NASA STEM’s YouTube Channel. Source: NASA STEM.

NASA Internships: Students apply through intern.nasa.gov, where they tell us more about their education, skill set, experiences, and more. We encourage students to share with us relevant experience they may have associated to the project(s) to which they apply to! We encourage students to ask themselves: what do you want us to know about you? What makes you stand out among your peers? Check out our fall 2019 Virtual Career Fair for more information – be on the look out for a fall 2020 Virtual Career Fair as well! 

Question: How do you get an Internship if you are not a US Citizen?

NASA Internships: We have two opportunities you can check out! The first is our NASA International Internship Program, where only current countries participating with agreements are eligible. The second is NASA JPL’s Visiting Student Research Program, where visiting students have secured funding from third-party sponsors who are not associated with NASA or JPL funding sources. Learn more by visiting these programs directly. 

Question: We got a number of questions asking about what kinds of projects are available within physics, communications, and history projects!  

‘Preview Projects’ prior to applying. Source: NASA Internships.

NASA Internships: Projects vary at every center each session. Once you complete an application, you will be able to apply the available projects for the specified session. You can use filters to locate specific projects that meet your desired geographic location and skill sets. Projects include both STEM and non-STEM opportunities!

Want to get ahead? You can preview projects to see what’s currently available! Go to ‘Preview Projects,’ select the session you’re interested in, and search for title key words (i.e. aerospace, physics, history, communications, etc.).

Question: To the coordinators: What was it that made these interns stand out the most as candidates? Outside of academics, what characteristics were you most excited to see demonstrated?

NASA Internships: Our coordinators and mentors like to see a variety of skillsets, experience, and knowledge. This includes: how do you demonstrate leadership skills, problem-solving, and build upon teamwork? To further assist you, here are 10 Things You Can Do Now to Prepare for a NASA Internship. You can also learn more about what our #NASAinterns are saying by reading their blogs and stories 

Thank you for joining us this National Intern Day 2020! We look forward to your student application and encourage you to visit intern.nasa.gov to learn more. Follow us on social media to ensure you stay connect with NASA Internships: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

NASA Internships Celebrates National Intern Day 2020 with Social Q&A Events

Have you ever wanted to ask a NASA intern how they got their internship? Do you want to ask intern coordinators for application tips? On Thursday, July 30th, you can!

NASA is celebrating National Intern Day 2020 with Social Q&A events on Reddit, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Our panelists will consist of interns, subject matter experts, and intern coordinators who will answer your questions!

National Intern Day 2020 Social Q&A Schedule:

Instagram: 11 am – 5 pm ET

@NASAinternships

Questions collected in advance via call to action Q&A sticker.

—–

Reddit AMA: 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm ET

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/

Q&A will be live. Check back for Reddit link!

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LinkedIn: 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET

https://www.linkedin.com/company/nasa/

Questions collected via a NASA post. Check back on 7/30 to see your question answered!

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Twitter: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm ET

@NASAInterns

Q&A will be live. Tag us and use #NASAinterns!

Learn more about NASA Internships: https://intern.nasa.gov/.