First Day on the Job
Today was my first day of work at the NASA Ames Research Center!
Yesterday, my roommate and I got settled into our room at the NASA Lodge. There is on base housing available for interns, which is super convenient and fun; there are tons of opportunities to meet other interns from around the country and the world!
Our research group had several meetings today with our different supervisors and mentors:
At noon, our research group met with Vahimir, a project coordinator for the product that we will all be working on (which I can't describe here because it's confidential). He talked to us about marketing and web design associated with the product, and how we can increase awareness of the product in the public sphere. Vahimir was very knowledgeable in terms of our project because he has been working with Dr. Cagle for a little over a year.
After we got off of the video call with Vahimir, Dr. Cagle made her first appearance. Some of the interns who have already been here for a week hadn't met her yet, and I obviously hadn't met her because I just got here yesterday. Dr. Cagle has worn many hats throughout her career, including Air Force flight surgeon, NASA astronaut, and faculty with Singularity University. She is clearly super accomplished, and yet she was so personable, kind, genuine, and funny when she met with us. It just goes to show that really accomplished people (and let's face it, Dr. Cagle is basically a celebrity) can be really down to Earth.
In that first short meeting with Dr. Cagle, she basically just told us about her background and experience that led her to develop the product we'll be working on. She was also really open to answering any questions we had, which is awesome. It is always great to have supervisors who are willing to take the time out and make sure that you really understand your assignment.
During lunch, I met with other interns in my program that are in my research group. We discussed some ideas we had for our portion of the project, and just chatted and got to know each other.
After lunch, we met with Dr. Cagle again to discuss more specifics of our project. She also discussed more opportunities with us, since some of the interns are being reassigned and shifted around so that everyone can have a more enriching experience. She also talked about Singularity University, which is a big Silicon Valley think tank. She is a faculty member for Singularity, and she told us about how intense the program is. I would love to participate in a think tank like Singularity one day, but they are very competitive and I am not sure if I could qualify 😂
Now my roommate and I are back in our room, planning for tomorrow and just hanging out. We seem to be getting along really well so far, and I like a lot of the other interns too.
I am excited for dinner tonight because all of the interns in my building kind of hang out in the kitchen around dinnertime. My roommate and I haven't really met any of the interns from other schools yet, and I really want to make connections and friends with people who have different interests and experiences!
If you're interested, you can read more about my supervisor, Dr. Cagle, because she is super cool and interesting, and she is definitely worth reading about:
https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/cagle.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvonne_Cagle
Here is a picture of me in front of the model NASA shuttle at the main gates of the Research Park:
Yesterday, my roommate and I got settled into our room at the NASA Lodge. There is on base housing available for interns, which is super convenient and fun; there are tons of opportunities to meet other interns from around the country and the world!
Our research group had several meetings today with our different supervisors and mentors:
At noon, our research group met with Vahimir, a project coordinator for the product that we will all be working on (which I can't describe here because it's confidential). He talked to us about marketing and web design associated with the product, and how we can increase awareness of the product in the public sphere. Vahimir was very knowledgeable in terms of our project because he has been working with Dr. Cagle for a little over a year.
After we got off of the video call with Vahimir, Dr. Cagle made her first appearance. Some of the interns who have already been here for a week hadn't met her yet, and I obviously hadn't met her because I just got here yesterday. Dr. Cagle has worn many hats throughout her career, including Air Force flight surgeon, NASA astronaut, and faculty with Singularity University. She is clearly super accomplished, and yet she was so personable, kind, genuine, and funny when she met with us. It just goes to show that really accomplished people (and let's face it, Dr. Cagle is basically a celebrity) can be really down to Earth.
In that first short meeting with Dr. Cagle, she basically just told us about her background and experience that led her to develop the product we'll be working on. She was also really open to answering any questions we had, which is awesome. It is always great to have supervisors who are willing to take the time out and make sure that you really understand your assignment.
During lunch, I met with other interns in my program that are in my research group. We discussed some ideas we had for our portion of the project, and just chatted and got to know each other.
After lunch, we met with Dr. Cagle again to discuss more specifics of our project. She also discussed more opportunities with us, since some of the interns are being reassigned and shifted around so that everyone can have a more enriching experience. She also talked about Singularity University, which is a big Silicon Valley think tank. She is a faculty member for Singularity, and she told us about how intense the program is. I would love to participate in a think tank like Singularity one day, but they are very competitive and I am not sure if I could qualify 😂
Now my roommate and I are back in our room, planning for tomorrow and just hanging out. We seem to be getting along really well so far, and I like a lot of the other interns too.
I am excited for dinner tonight because all of the interns in my building kind of hang out in the kitchen around dinnertime. My roommate and I haven't really met any of the interns from other schools yet, and I really want to make connections and friends with people who have different interests and experiences!
If you're interested, you can read more about my supervisor, Dr. Cagle, because she is super cool and interesting, and she is definitely worth reading about:
https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/cagle.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvonne_Cagle
Here is a picture of me in front of the model NASA shuttle at the main gates of the Research Park:
I read the bio on Dr. Cagle and it is quite impressive.
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