1
00:00:11,139 --> 00:00:15,990
I remember being a kid in a classroom and
the teacher had dimmed the lights and had

2
00:00:15,990 --> 00:00:21,470
us all push our desks to the middle of the
room so we could see the TV straight-on for

3
00:00:21,470 --> 00:00:24,340
the best picture.

4
00:00:24,340 --> 00:00:30,119
Watching the power of the Saturn V rocket
and knowing that there was a live crew on-board,

5
00:00:30,119 --> 00:00:36,010
seeing them land on the Moon, and learn how
to walk in that alien environment, and gather

6
00:00:36,010 --> 00:00:42,110
samples and conduct science and then come
back and walk among us again and tell us about

7
00:00:42,110 --> 00:00:45,899
it, that was just thrilling for me.

8
00:00:45,899 --> 00:00:50,969
Even though I didn't understand the all the
technological aspects of it, I knew that I

9
00:00:50,969 --> 00:00:56,500
wanted to be a part of that excitement and
that adventure.

10
00:00:56,500 --> 00:01:01,190
It was really interesting for me then years
later to be standing at Kennedy Space Center,

11
00:01:01,190 --> 00:01:07,090
watching a shuttle launch and remembering
how I felt during those Apollo days and thinking

12
00:01:07,090 --> 00:01:09,190
“Well I've come full circle.”

13
00:01:09,190 --> 00:01:13,440
One of the things that I do for NASA is monitor
the health of our work culture.

14
00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:19,579
I learn what our strengths are and I try to
compound those and I look for our weaknesses

15
00:01:19,579 --> 00:01:21,750
and try to improve those.

16
00:01:21,750 --> 00:01:27,610
And I am very proud to say that in its category,
Stennis Space Center has been among the top

17
00:01:27,610 --> 00:01:33,220
five best places to work across the entire
Federal government.

18
00:01:33,220 --> 00:01:38,909
There are a lot of women that I have drawn
inspiration from over the years and actually

19
00:01:38,909 --> 00:01:45,670
if I had to name them I would say Susan Crosky
who is now the Chief Financial Officer at

20
00:01:45,670 --> 00:01:51,420
Kennedy Space Center and Marina Beningo who
worked here at Stennis for many years, both

21
00:01:51,420 --> 00:01:55,040
who are instrumental in my coming to work
for NASA.

22
00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:57,950
And they were very helpful to me over time.

23
00:01:57,950 --> 00:02:03,010
Certainly my current boss, Dorsey Jones, who
is the manager of the Office of Human Capital,

24
00:02:03,010 --> 00:02:05,250
I learn something from her every day.

25
00:02:05,250 --> 00:02:11,510
But there is one person that I would say influenced
me the most, it would certainly be my mother,

26
00:02:11,510 --> 00:02:12,590
Alice.

27
00:02:12,590 --> 00:02:18,260
She taught me about good work habits, she
was a librarian for over 40 years.

28
00:02:18,260 --> 00:02:22,760
She was the head of the catalog department
at a university library and I spent a lot

29
00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:28,090
of time at the library watching her work and
being a part of things and I noticed that

30
00:02:28,090 --> 00:02:31,950
she was very organized and very focused.

31
00:02:31,950 --> 00:02:35,870
I watched how those two things seemed to feed
off of each other, the more organized she

32
00:02:35,870 --> 00:02:41,870
was the more she could focus and have fun
and it brought out the best in her.

33
00:02:41,870 --> 00:02:45,880
She also taught me the value of good reading
and writing skills.

34
00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:49,340
If you're interested in a STEM field, keep
going.

35
00:02:49,340 --> 00:02:53,780
There is so much to discover and so much to
be a part of with NASA.

36
00:02:53,780 --> 00:02:58,620
This is work that isn't being conducted anywhere
else in the world.

37
00:02:58,620 --> 00:03:03,790
Now if you decide that a STEM field is not
for you don't worry because NASA requires