1
00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:06,080
Being part of something that's bigger than\h
myself is really the biggest part of the job.

2
00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:09,760
You know I may be a part of the\h
team that may someday discover life\h\h

3
00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:12,320
throughout the solar system,
and that and that's huge for me.

4
00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:20,400
My name is Carl Sandifer the second, and I'm the\h
deputy chief for the space science project office\h\h

5
00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:25,840
at the NASA Glenn Research Center and I've been\h
here for a little over 20 years. The mission is\h\h

6
00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:30,800
is just amazing right, I wake up every morning\h
inspired to get to work, but the people are just\h\h

7
00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:36,240
fantastic to work with. So for fun I like to\h
play basketball, it's always been my passion.\h

8
00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:40,160
So i played - was that 6th grade through\h
the 12th grade. I think I still got it.

9
00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:46,160
From an educational standpoint, I would also tell\h
myself to always do your best and challenge myself,\h

10
00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:51,920
but to not put so much pressure on myself, because\h
I put a lot of pressure on myself to get that A.\h\h

11
00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:57,680
I love anything that's competitive. I don't know\h
why it's innate in my system, but you know whether\h\h

12
00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:02,800
it's sports or or any games, card games, board\h
games. Growing up I always loved mathematics,\h

13
00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:09,600
it was my favorite subject. I never dreamed of\h
working for NASA but when I was in college, you\h\h

14
00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:14,800
know I learned about the fact that there was a\h
co-op program at NASA Glenn and I applied and\h\h

15
00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:21,360
started my first position as an aerospace engineer\h
and really focused on orbital mechanics. And that\h\h

16
00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:27,760
position led to me working for the radioisotope\h
power systems program about 10 years or so ago. I

17
00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:33,680
transitioned into NASA leadership.You know what - I
would like to go to every national park and hike\h\h

18
00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:40,400
with my family. I've got a 22-year-old, a 13-year-old and a 10-year-old. We'll see if I can you know\h\h

19
00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:45,760
get the 22-year-old to join. So we need to do a\h
better job of reaching the classroom environment\h\h

20
00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:50,720
and sharing all the opportunities that are\h
available. And also of course, you know encouraging\h\h

21
00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:55,600
our children to create a plan that aligns with\h
their interests. So important to seek a mentor in\h\h

22
00:01:55,600 --> 00:02:01,680
your field of interest to get an idea of what\h
it's like and have them work with you to outline\h\h

23
00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:06,320
you know what it takes to get to that position.\h
And I'd say go for it you know don't be afraid,

24
00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:11,680
you know nothing is unachievable. We had kind of\h
a class comedian and one that one day playing\h\h

25
00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:16,480
basketball, you know this guy I didn't know kind of\h
shows up and he just says you know you look like\h\h

26
00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,800
a Ralph. And so everybody just kind of looked at\h
him and said you know what we're gonna call you\h\h

27
00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:28,240
Ralph from now on and so I don't know how - you know\h
the name stuck and so my childhood friends call me